Image: Egyptian paint holder HARGM10425

Description: Shell of the Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas) from the Red Sea reused as a container for red paint made form ochre (iron oxide), plant oil and plant gum, a similar recipe to that used in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Thebes. Egyptians often used natural objects to store paint and cosmetics, such as in this case a shell. The paint found in this shell could have been used by draughtsmen to sketch out guidelines of carvings for stonemasons as well as to detail rough outlines of figures on tomb walls.
Title: Egyptian giant clam shell paint holder
Credit: This file was donated by Harrogate Museums and Arts service as part of the Yorkshire Network GLAMwiki. The service operates Royal Pump Room, the Mercer Art Gallery and Knaresbrough Castle. You can find out more about their GLAMwiki work on their directory page: Harrogate Museums This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.
Author: Staff or representatives of Harrogate Museums and Arts service
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes