Amatory Ostracon

A reminder that even in the shadow of eternity, the craftsmen of Thebes found time for life’s more earthly pleasures, this playful and rather daring sketch from the workmen’s village captures a rare glimpse into the more private humour of Ancient Egyptian life.

Painted swiftly in black ink, it shows a man and woman engaged in intercourse, accompanied by a teasing inscription before the woman that translates, somewhat cheekily, as “A satisfied foreskin means a happy man.”

Such fragments were found among the debris of artisans’ huts, they were the ancient equivalent of casual doodles or bawdy cartoons; the amusement of men who spent their days carving the tombs of kings. These sketches reveal that behind the solemnity of temple walls and funerary rituals, there was laughter, desire, and a very human sense of mischief.

Summary:

Limestone Ostracon from Deir el-Medina

New Kingdom, 19th–20th Dynasty, c. 1295–1070 B.C.

From The Worker’s Village at Deir el-Medina, Thebes. British Museum. EA50714