Sally Mair - Loving life

By Sallymair

Right hand

I was in Kelvingrove Museum today looking in the Egyptian gallery amongst others and I came across this display. For some reason the hand struck me as particularity poignant. The foot and head were interesting, but it was the hand which connected with me most.
It's just perfect and is almost 2400 years old.
It is small, and complete.
The finger nails are well tended, and..... it's 2400 years old.
It's darkened with age and presumably the mummification process.
It belonged to a young man, I don't know where the rest of him is, but that hand picked up food, it held onto a parents hand, perhaps a lover's hand, perhaps a child's.
It worked and played in a time we can only imagine, yet it has survived and is so perfect.
...and it is 2400 years old.
Its owner can have had no concept of how long his beautiful hand would survive, I hope he didn't suffer.

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