Hieratic Ostracon Recording a Royal Name and a List of Names

New Kingdom, Ramesside

ca 1184–1070 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 122

Ostraca (plural for ostracon) are potsherds used as surfaces on which to write or draw. The term is used, by extension, to refer to chips of limestone, which were employed for similar purposes. Despite their humble appearances, ostraca bear a wide range of images and texts, including administrative documents, literary texts, and depictions of royal and divine figures. The texts were mostly written with reed pen and ink of two colors, red and black, and inscribed in Hieratic, the cursive script of ancient Egypt throughout most of its periods. This ostracon records the name list of workmen amd a few absences.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Hieratic Ostracon Recording a Royal Name and a List of Names
Period: New Kingdom, Ramesside
Dynasty: Dynasty 20
Reign: reigns of Ramesses IV-VI.
Date: ca 1184–1070 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Davis excavations, 1909
Medium: Limestone, ink
Dimensions: H. 15.4 × W. 21.1 × Th. 3.1 cm (6 1/16 × 8 5/16 × 1 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Theodore M. Davis, 1909
Object Number: 09.184.707
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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See 09.184.707, Limestone, ink — See 09.184.707
ca 1184–1070 B.C.

Artist's Sketches of Senenmut, Sketch of Small Rodent on Opposite Side, Limestone, ink — Artist's Sketches of Senenmut, Sketch of Small Rodent on Opposite Side
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Ostracon with Pharaoh Spearing a Lion and a Royal Hymn on its Back, Limestone, ink — Ostracon with Pharaoh Spearing a Lion and a Royal Hymn on its Back
ca. 1186–1070 B.C.

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ca. 1279–1213 B.C.

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