King spearing lion

This ostracon depicting a lively scene of a Ramesside pharaoh hunting wild animals with a spear, was given to the Earl of Carnarvon during a division of finds, after excavations conducted by Howard Carter in 1920. It was discovered within the Valley of the Kings, among debris near the entrance of what would be the Tomb of Tutankhamun, (KV62).

This slab of limestone, known to Egyptologists as an “ostracon”, showcases the king, dressed in his finest attire, wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, known as the Deshret. He is piercing the mouth of a lion, straight through to the heart of the beast. The king is accompanied by his hunting dog also known as the “Pharoah Hound”.

Alas, this scene is not just a hunting scene, as it holds nationalistic symbology, that was rife during the Pharaonic age of Ancient Egypt.
The hieratic text accompanying the artwork, writes: “The slaughter of every foreign land, the Pharaoh—may he live, prosper, and be healthy.“

Thus, this scene is depicting Egypt’s dominance over its enemies. The unnamed king, perhaps a symbol of Egypt itself, rather than depicting a certain monarch. The wild-untamed beast, this time in the form of a lion, is subdued at the king’s aggression.

The style of the art is not as rigid as the Ancient Egyptian formula known to us through the prior ages. It is apparent that the leftover fluidity from the then dismantled Amarna age seems to have stuck slightly, even as far into the 20th Dynasty, in which this piece was created.

Summary:
New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, c. 1186–1070 B.C.
Debris outside of Tomb KV62 (Tutankhamun), Upper Egypt, Thebes, Valley of the Kings.
Met Museum. 26.7.1453