Ostracon

Ostracon of a Dancer

Ostracon of a Dancer in an acrobatic position

An ostracon showing a topless dancer in an acrobatic position with elaborate hairstyle and hoop earrings in gymnastic backbend. This magnificently drawn sketch of a lady doing a back bend defies many of the conventions of Egyptian art. Performances were held at festivals, banquets, in the temple, and at funerals, but could take place anywhere....

Ostracon showing Amun-Re as a ram

Ostracon of Amun-Re as a ram

This is a pottery ostracon, measuring 14.4×10.3 cm with an ink sketch showing the prow of the sacred boat of the god Amun-Re. It is decorated with a ram’s head and a royal cobra (uraeus). The line of hieroglyphs over the head of the ram reads, “Amun-Re, the Light of Day.” And the column of...

Ostracon Showing a Cat Waiting on a Mouse

Ostracon of a Cat Waiting on a Mouse

In this ostracon, a cat funerary priest approaches a mouse with offerings. The mouse wears a lotus flower on its head, sits on a chair, sniffs a flower, and holds out a cup to be filled. The cat, standing on his hind legs, fans the mouse and offers a roasted duck and a piece of...

Figured Ostracon

Figured Ostracon

Sketch of a common crane, a vulture, and a hound possibly basenji. This probably a series of trial sketches, not an integrated composition, and the subjects were sketched independently. Ostraca (limestone blocks) were often used by Egyptian artists for preliminary drawings, and no doubt by students of painting and sculpture. Ostracon, the Greek term for...

Ostracon of the god Hapi

Ostracon of the god Hapi

An ostracon depicted in two faces, the verso depicted with a double-figure of the Nile god Hapi standing, with a fat body wearing a crown of the two plants of Upper and Lower Egypt and a short kilt. On the left, the god raises his left leg while the right one raises his right leg...

Dispute Over a Hut

Ostracon of a Dispute Over a Hut

Fragmentary limestone ostracon with a hieratic inscription recording the resolution of a dispute over a hut inherited by the workman Wennofer. The inscription is unusual in being incised and filled with blue frit, a technique used for formal hieroglyphic inscriptions. Perhaps Wennofer set this ostracon into a wall of the disputed hut like a stele....

Ostracon of Ramesses III Crushing an Enemy

Ostracon of Ramesses III Crushing an Enemy

One of the most typical royal scenes is reproduced on this ostracon, king Ramesses III in the act of crushing the defeated enemy. The scene was widely used on pylons and external walls of temples. On this piece the king is shown upright, his head adorned with red crown topped by the two feathers and...

Ostracon of a Prayer

Ostracon of a Prayer

This ostracon is depicting a scribe as a prayer, drawing on a piece of limestone. The ancient Egyptians drew on ostraca for a variety of reasons; for example, while planning work on tombs or as exercises. Ostraca are simple splinters of limestone or shards of pottery, on which the ancient Egyptians wrote or drew. This...

Ostracon of a Cat Minding Geese

Ostracon of a Cat Minding Geese

Ostracon of a cat, standing on its hind legs, acts as guide and protector to a flock of six ducks or geese, arranged in two registers, or sections. This ostracon shows a cheerful episode from an Egyptian folktale. In this tale the roles of the natural world are reversed. Above the birds is a nest...

Ostracon of a Lute Player

Ostracon of a Lute Player

This ostracon depicting a female musician lute player, wearing a broad collar and holding a musical instrument that is functionally close to a modern lute. The woman is facing left. The upper left-hand corner of the ostracon is broken and only her neck and the lower part of her chin are preserved. Her left hand...