Description

This tiny, elegant ivory hand was once belonged to a statuette which formed part of the burial equipment of an unknown person whose tomb was in the Royal Burial ground at Abydos.  Though the human remains were in poor condition due to damp soil, the tombs were rich in artifacts, many, alas, shattered long ago by tomb robbers.  A number ivory figurines of young women were been found in early Dynastic tombs, though their significance eludes us.

Petrie illustrated several detached ivory hands in his publications on The Royal Tombs of the First Dynasties.  Some have a tenon to show they were once attached to an arm, perhaps made of a different material.  Even at such a small scale, there is great attention to detail in the naturalistic nails and fingers.