Photo Gallery

Decorated hands of a Targuia in the camp at Oued Timia - Niger

«The palm of the hand does not overshadow the sun» (Tuareg proverb)

On indigo fabric background, nomad woman's hands and traditional Tuareg jewellery

Three bowls found in Hopi graves that represent a link between prehistoric and historic times with their continuity in form and decorative motifs; UCM. - Polychrome bowl with the magic hand symbol. Diameter: 10.56 inches. (PUE-179A/C)
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Three bowls found in Hopi graves that represent a link between prehistoric and historic times with their continuity in form and decorative motifs; UCM. - Polychrome bowl, arm and hand (with schematized fingernails). Diameter: 10.4 inches. (PUE-179A/B) -- Museumdaten fehlen!
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Positive and negative handprints on friezes or in masterly compositions. The hand is a universally familiar symbol, found in all cultures at all times. - Red and ochre-colored hands under Kachina Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah).

Positive and negative handprints on friezes or in masterly compositions. The hand is a universally familiar symbol, found in all cultures at all times. - Positive and negative impressions of hands (as well as people) painted in white, Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Arizona).

Positive and negative handprints on friezes or in masterly compositions. The hand is a universally familiar symbol, found in all cultures at all times. - Length of one of the large hands: 8 inches. Galisteo (New Mexico).

Positive and negative handprints on friezes or in masterly compositions. The hand is a universally familiar symbol, found in all cultures at all times. - near Peek-Aboo Spring, Salt Creek Canyonlands, Canyonlands National Park (Utah).

«Tsimshian hand» with an «eye» in the palm; a motif by Roy A. Vickers.

The legends are only available in German or Spanish
«La Cueva de las Manos» ist ein schwer zugängliches Abri oberhalb des Río Pinturas, zwischen Bajo Caracoles und Perito Moreno in der argentinischen Provinz Santa Cruz. Die Bedeutung der Hände ist nicht geklärt, ist jedoch sicher magischen Charakters. Die Malerei gehört zum Kreis der Toldense-Kultur, deren Alter bis auf etwa 8000 v. Chr. zurück geschätzt wird. Sie gehören heute zum Weltkulturerbe. - 1973

The “Cueva de las Manos”, a difficult-to-access rock shelter above the Río Pinturas, between Bajo Caracoles and Perito Moreno (Santa Cruz province). The walls are covered all over with depictions of hands. - 1973

The “Cueva de las Manos”, a difficult-to-access rock shelter above the Río Pinturas, between Bajo Caracoles and Perito Moreno (Santa Cruz province). In a side grotto are these rock paintings of guanacos, hands and symbols. The diameter of the circle is 27 cm. - 1973

The artisan needs a lot of patience when making straw jewellery. - Timbuktu - Mali - 1969

Hands in negative form. They are moving because they represent the sign of a person who placed them on the rock with a wish. Was it fulfilled? Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Jabbaren - 1993

Hands of a nomad woman with traditional Tuareg jewellery on indigo fabric in the background - Oued Timia - Niger - Aïr - 1992

6 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer) – Life-size hands in negative, obtained by projecting white pigment onto hands pressed against the rock. This symbol is universal and remains emotionally powerful.

222 - Tadrart Acacous. Tin-Achigh. – Very rare representation of a hand engraved in relief. Diagonally along the rock fracture, a crude Tifinagh inscription. Life-size.

440 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Negative handprints. We have already seen similar messages at the introduction. They are moving because they represent the mark of a human who left them on the rock while making a wish. Was it fulfilled?

529 - Séfar (Tassili-n'Ajjer). – Two hands at the end of severed arms. The left hand is finely decorated; the other is bordered by a double line. At the bottom left: head of a mouflon. Length of the right hand and arm: 0.33 m.

530 - Séfar (Tassili-n'Ajjer). – Another "positive" hand at the end of its arm. Below, a very rare depiction of a fire. Europoid figures with headgear. The arm and hand measure 0.51 m in length.

594 - Tin-Kani (Tassili-n'Ajjer). – A "positive" hand missing the thumb. Above, two archers aiming to the right. Painting in ochre.

599 - Tin-Kani (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Left hand in negative, obtained by projecting white paint onto the hand pressed onto the rock. Below, a hoofed animal in Sefar style painted in white lines. The eyes are rendered in flat perspective. The hand on the rock is life-size.

603 - In ltinen (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Right hand "positive." Life-size.