Latest news with #ceramic
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare 4,000-year-old Egyptian handprint found
A 4,000-year-old handprint has been found on an ancient Egyptian tomb offering by curators preparing for an exhibition. The discovery was made by University of Cambridge researchers on a "soul house", a type of clay model in the shape of a building, typically found in burials. Curator Helen Strudwick said the complete handprint, which dates to 2055 to 1650BC, was "a rare and exciting" find. The ceramic will go on display as part of the university's Made in Ancient Egypt exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum opening on 3 October. Ms Strudwick, senior egyptologist at the Fitzwilliam Museum, said: "We've spotted traces of fingerprints left in wet varnish or on a coffin in the decoration, but it is rare and exciting to find a complete handprint underneath this soul house. "This was left by the maker who touched it before the clay dried. "I have never seen such a complete handprint on an Egyptian object before." The exhibition concentrates on the people who made the ancient Egyptian crafts. While ceramics were widely used and vast amounts of pottery survive, there are relatively few details known about the potters themselves, in comparison to other ancient Egyptian craftsmen. The ready availability and generally low value of pottery may have affected their status, according to the museum, which cited a text known as the Teaching of Khet, comparing potters to pigs who wallow in mud. Soul houses may have acted as offering trays or provided a place for the soul of the deceased to live within the tomb. They had an open front space where items of food were laid out, in this example loaves of bread, a lettuce and an ox's head. Analysis of the item suggested the potter who made it first created a framework of wooden sticks and then coated it with clay to make a building with two storeys supported by pillars. During firing the wooden framework burnt away, leaving empty spaces in their place. The handprint found underneath was probably made when someone, perhaps the potter, moved the house out of the workshop to dry before firing in a kiln, according to the researchers. The stories of Egyptian rulers, like Tutankhamun, have received a great deal of attention but the makers of the artefacts themselves are often overlooked. Made in Ancient Egypt aims to show who these people were, how they thought of themselves and what other Egyptians thought of them. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story Ancient Egyptian history may be rewritten by DNA bone test Researchers help uncover ancient Egyptian city Scientists may have solved mystery behind Egypt's pyramids Related internet links Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
28-07-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Cambridge researchers find 4,000-year-old Egyptian handprint
A 4,000-year-old handprint has been found on an ancient Egyptian tomb offering by curators preparing for an discovery was made by University of Cambridge researchers on a "soul house", a type of clay model in the shape of a building, typically found in Helen Strudwick said the complete handprint, which dates to 2055 to 1650BC, was "a rare and exciting" find. The ceramic will go on display as part of the university's Made in Ancient Egypt exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum opening on 3 October. Ms Strudwick, senior egyptologist at the Fitzwilliam Museum, said: "We've spotted traces of fingerprints left in wet varnish or on a coffin in the decoration, but it is rare and exciting to find a complete handprint underneath this soul house."This was left by the maker who touched it before the clay dried."I have never seen such a complete handprint on an Egyptian object before." The exhibition concentrates on the people who made the ancient Egyptian ceramics were widely used and vast amounts of pottery survive, there are relatively few details known about the potters themselves, in comparison to other ancient Egyptian ready availability and generally low value of pottery may have affected their status, according to the museum, which cited a text known as the Teaching of Khet, comparing potters to pigs who wallow in mud. Soul houses may have acted as offering trays or provided a place for the soul of the deceased to live within the had an open front space where items of food were laid out, in this example loaves of bread, a lettuce and an ox's of the item suggested the potter who made it first created a framework of wooden sticks and then coated it with clay to make a building with two storeys supported by firing the wooden framework burnt away, leaving empty spaces in their handprint found underneath was probably made when someone, perhaps the potter, moved the house out of the workshop to dry before firing in a kiln, according to the stories of Egyptian rulers, like Tutankhamun, have received a great deal of attention but the makers of the artefacts themselves are often in Ancient Egypt aims to show who these people were, how they thought of themselves and what other Egyptians thought of them. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
On this day in 2015: Grayson Perry sculpture to be exhibited
On this day in 2015, the York Press reported that a ceramic figure by Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry would go on display at York Art Gallery. The piece, titled Melanie, was set to feature in York Art Gallery's Centre of Ceramic Art after the latter's planned reopening, after an £8 million transformation, on August 1, 2015. Melanie was previously seen on screen in Perry's Who Are You? documentary in 2014. Helen Walsh, curator of ceramics, described Melanie as "a voluptuous, figurative piece, with a strong narrative which discusses the changing view of what constitutes feminine beauty." The artwork, one of three in Perry's Three Graces series, was inspired by a contestant, named Melanie, in the Miss Plus Size International competition. The other two pieces in the Three Graces series were inspired by contestants Georgina and Sarah. Perry said: "I have portrayed them as vaguely antique, hieratic, adorned with images, old and new, of female 'perfection' and food. "In the history of sculpture, female forms such as these were often seen as fertility goddesses to be prayed to for children and plentiful harvests. "Nowadays we are more likely to see a growing health problem."
The Independent
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Queen praises ‘beautiful' poppy display at Tower of London
The Queen has described a commemorative poppy display at the Tower of London as 'beautiful' and joked that the ceramic blooms were 'quite tempting' to take home. Camilla visited the historic fortress on Tuesday to launch The Tower Remembers, marking VE Day and the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. The new installation features 30,000 ceramic poppies from the 2014 Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red artwork, now redesigned to flow from the White Tower. Camilla admired the ceramic flowers and joked: 'I see why people would take them. I think they're so lovely. Quite tempting.' Project lead Tom O'Leary guided the Queen through the artwork, saying afterwards: 'She was very interested in it. She really liked the way that all the different heights comingulate.' Poet laureate Simon Armitage then read In Retrospect, a poem commissioned to mark VE Day. The Queen told him warmly: 'Lovely. Lovely poem. Thank you very much,' before asking how long it had taken to write. She met members of the Historic Royal Palaces and Tower teams who helped create the display, as well as D-Day veterans Henry Rice and Richard Aldred, who handed her a poppy to plant. Camilla was also joined by Yeoman Warder Tracey Machin and her five-year-old son Harrison, who planted a poppy alongside the Queen. Harrison said: 'I did a poppy with the Queen. This is my poppy,' pointing to the ceramic flower he had planted. Asked why the moment was important, he replied: 'Because it's really, really special.' He said he enjoyed living at the Tower of London, explaining: 'You get to see all the nice stuff,' and that it had been a 'really good' day. After helping with the ceremony, he was given a dragon teddy called Puffy. 'We chatted about all the poppies being here and it was really, really nice for them to be here,' he said. Ms Machin said: 'I could not be prouder of Harrison. He did such an excellent job. 'When you're five anything could happen so I'm really proud that he stayed very still. Her Majesty the Queen was absolutely wonderful. You can tell she has grandchildren herself. 'She was dressed absolutely beautifully in red and black, co-ordinating perfectly with our poppies. I think she was very impressed with the display as well.' The Queen was wearing gloves decorated with poppies, and told one attendee she had been given them in France last year. Mr Rice, 99, said of the visit: 'Memorable, that's the best word, because last year I went to France and had the pride and pleasure of meeting His Majesty and Her Majesty. I said to her quietly, 'We met last year', she said, 'Yes, I know', and that is fabulous. I mean, why should she remember me?' He added: 'Each one of those poppies there represents a man that gave his life to allow me, my family, this country in fact, to live in peace and comfort. 'I really do thank them and they are my heroes, all of them.' Outside the Tower, crowds clapped and cheered as the Queen greeted them. She shook hands with schoolchildren, joking about them missing lessons, before she departed. One member of the public called out: 'God save the King, we all love Camilla, give us a wave.'
