Hilary Wilson on… Hands

The artists appear to have shown the hands attached to the wrong arms in their pursuit of maat or true depiction. In ancient Egyptian artwork, the human form is shown in an aesthetically pleasing manner, with every part of the body depicted at its most recognisable angle. Detailing of the hands and feet was carefully marked out, but – if you take a closer look – you will see that not everything is as you would expect. Quartzite hands from a composite statue, now in the Neues Museum, Berlin. Statues and wall paintings Comparison of an Egyptian statue with a wall painting depicting a similar figure suggests that the artist working in two dimensions followed subtly different ru