Ancient Egyptian figurine wins most unusual donated item award
Melanie May | 2 May 2018 | News
An ancient Egyptian figurine featuring hieroglyphics from the Book of the Dead has won the Most Unusual Item donated to a hospice shop, in Hospice UK’s retail awards.
The figurine, known as ‘a shabti’, features an extract from the book, which is a compilation of spells designed to guide the deceased through the dangers of the underworld.
The Egyptian artefact scooped the top prize in its category for the awards, held annually by Hospice UK. It was spotted by the manager at the Crystal Peaks shop run by St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield and experts have verified its authenticity and believe it originates from circa.350 BC.
Other unusual items donated to hospice shops for the awards included: a set of prehistoric mammoth bones and an old pair of binoculars donated to the Paul Sartori Foundation in Pembrokeshire. A volunteer spotted the potential value of the binoculars and research established that they were World War II German U-boat commander’s binoculars. The hospice later auctioned them on eBay.
The prizes were awarded at the retail awards and conference Spring clean. Fresh ideas to drive your Hospice Retail Forward, on 1 May at Kenilworth in Warwickshire.
Catherine Bosworth, Director of Income Generation at Hospice UK, said:
“These awards celebrate the colour and creativity of the UK’s hospice retail sector, from the innovative to the downright quirky, as reflected in the intriguing items donated to hospice shops.
“Hospice shops are a key player in the charity sector retail market – they raise crucial income for hospices and are also a great way of helping increase awareness about hospice care.”
Advertisement
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.