Specialist on artisanship and EES Publications Manager, Dr Meg Gundlach, joins our host Charlotte Jordan at the Egypt Exploration Society. Explore how we understand authorship, craftsmanship, and creativity in ancient Egypt. First, Art in ancient Egypt is contextualised, as objects were shaped by tradition, function and cultural norms rather than individual expression. We discuss how artisans were not necessarily creative geniuses but trained specialists, and so their identities were typically anonymous. The episode then turns to the evidence found in the archaeological record, including what the study of maker’s marks, often mistaken for signatures, instead reveals about administrative control. The difference between palaeography and orthography in the study of written inscriptions is also explored, showing how artisans still exercised choice in ...