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16‘I can confirm thatthe 5th Earl’s dog,Susie, died hereat Highclere at thesame moment asher master’forced to sell her husband’s collectionof Egyptian antiquities.It went to the MetropolitanMuseum in New York after theBritish Museum could not raisethe amount needed.’Almina’s son, the 6th Earl ofCarnarvon, was a bon viveur andnot at all interested in Egyptology,but Lady Carnarvon tells me shewas pleased to find that he did continueto invite Carter to Highclere– his name appears in the visitors’book during the 1930s. HowardCarter died, aged 64, in 1939, whilethe 6th Earl lived to the ripe old ageof 89. So it is good to hear that theeffects of the curse did not continue.‘The 6th Earl did not like to talkabout Egypt,’ says Lady Carnarvon,‘but after he died in 1987, his butlerRobert Taylor mentioned that someEgyptian artefacts had been hidden15. Watercolour ofHatshepsut’s templepainted by HowardCarter in 1915.16. The Pyramids atGiza with the Nile inflood photographedby Lord Carnarvonin 1910-11.17. Calcite jar bearingRamesses II’s cartouche,found by Carnarvonand Carter in 1920,and one of the objectsrediscovered atHighclere in 1987.18. Fragment of wallfrom the tomb ofBakenrenef (664-610BC) in Saqqara. Thehieroglyphs form partof Spell 22 from theBook of the Dead.19. Ivory-handled razorused by Carnarvon inCairo in 1923, whenhe nicked a mosquitobite which turnedseptic. He later died ofpneumonia brought onby blood poisoning.All images courtesy ofHighclere Castle unlessotherwise stated.‘My beloved friend and colleagueLord Carnarvon, who died in thehour of his triumph. But for hisuntiring generosity and constantencouragement our labourscould never have been crownedwith success. His judgement inancient art has rarely beenequalled. His efforts, which havedone so much to extend ourknowledge of Egyptology, willforever be honoured in historyand, by me, his memory willalways be cherished.’(Tribute by Howard Carter to the5th Earl of Carnarvon, April 1923)away behind a false wall. This wasvery exciting and most of theseare now on show in our Egyptianexhibition at Highclere, togetherwith some objects lent to us by theBritish Museum. My husband chosethe objects and oversaw all the displays;he is as mad about Egypt asI am. We invite lots of Egyptians,from archaeologists to ambassadors,to stay here.’The warm affection that LadyCarnarvon has for the country andits people is apparent and, despitethe Downton Abbey effect, she isdelighted that 80 per cent of visitorsto Highclere visit the Egyptian exhibition.So, the Carnarvons’ archaeologicallegacy is not forgotten.‘Carnarvon and Carter complementedeach other and they bothgave their lives for Egypt,’ she says.Will her son follow in the footstepsof his great-great-grandfather?‘Well, I don’t believe in pushingchildren into things, as it oftendoesn’t encourage them and canhave quite the opposite effect. Buttwo years ago I took my son, whowas 10 at the time, to visit theplaces that had meant so much tothe 5th Earl. We had a wonderfultrip. I really like the people of Egyptand I respect them. I hope after allthe turmoil of the last few yearsthey can find their way through topeace, democracy and stability.’ n• Egypt at Highclere: The Pathto the Discovery of Tutankhamunis available now (£8.50).Carnarvon & Carter is beingreprinted and will be available inspring 2013. Both books are byFiona Carnarvon and are publishedby Highclere Enterprises.• Highclere Castle, Newbury,Berkshire (www.highclerecastle.co.uk).17181925
Hand artA historyofGeorge Nash explores the meaning ofhandprints and stencils, from prehistoriccave art to the graffitied cityscapes ofBergamo and Belfasthandy workAll over our towns andcities graffiti artists andtaggers spray-paint theavailable surfaces ofbuildings and structures with theirpersonalised insignia. These oncestrictly subversive, undergroundmotifs have created recognisablesignatures for British-based artistssuch as Banksy, kELzO and AerosolArabic. Regarded by most as ascourge of modern urban living,graffiti in the recent past havebecome mainstream in the artworld. In a recent study by theauthor, one signature – the handstencilor handprint – has been usedwithin the historic quarter of thecity of Bergamo in northern Italy.This is not a new concept,however; it can be traced back tothe earliest artists, who roamed thelandscapes of southern Europesome 40,000 years ago.Throughout the ancient world,and wherever humans have colonisedand eventually settled, art hasbeen an essential and dynamic forcethat acts as a signature, not just forthe artist but also for the clan ortribal group, creating identity andownership. The artistic repertoire ofthe first rock artists, some 35,000 to40,000 years ago, featured one particularrepresentative motif aboveall that showed the ultimate humantouch – the hand-stencil.The hand-stencil and the handprintare phenomena found in amultitude of diverse areas aroundthe world. They have been createdin a number of ways, the most commonbeing for the artist to use his,or her, mouth to spray organic orinorganic pigments over the handand surrounding rock. Dry powderedcharcoal and possiblyhaematite (red ochre) may havebeen blown through a straw reed inorder to get an even texture acrossthe surface. Artists also painted1. Dated multiplehand-stencils fromEl Castillo cave innorthern Spain.(Courtesy of MarcosGarcía Díez)2. Hand-stencil fromthe Djulirri site inAustralia. (Courtesyof Paul Taçon).21round the outline of their hands,creating handprints. Left-handedstencils made by artists with theirright hands were most numerous,and it appears that these signaturesincluded all age groups, probablyrepresenting family groups.Recent scientific dating in a seriesof caves in northern Spain by anAnglo-Spanish team, led by DrAlistair Pike from the University ofBristol, has managed to pushback the dating of hand-stencils toaround 37,300 years ago. It is conceivable,but not yet proven, thathand-stencils in El Castillo Cavewere made by Neanderthals who,based on the direct dating and theartefacts left behind in this andother nearby caves, were roamingthis landscape some 40,000 years ormore ago (1).Moving very slightly forwardin time, over 420 hand-stencilssprayed with haematite have beenfound in one part of Chauvet Cavein the Ardèche, in southern France.These date to around 31,000 yearsago. Near the entrance of the cave,the palm of a right-handed artisthad been painted with red ochreand then applied to the wall(known as the Panel of theRed Dots), creating a multipledottedsurface that, some think,forms the shape of a mammoth.26Minerva November/December 2012
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