14 September 2012

Golden Egyptian finger stall


After seeing this photo at Uncertain Times, I had to look up "finger stall" - didn't know it was a synonym for "finger cot."  This one, currently in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is made of sheet gold and comes from a royal tomb in Upper Egypt (ca. 1479–1425 B.C.), where they are described as "standard elements" of a royal burial (on all fingers and toes).

I presume this was done to cover up the fact that postmortem shrinkage gives most digits a unattractive claw-like appearance.

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