Ancient Egyptian

Ostracon with a Drawing of a King

New Kingdom, mid-Dynasty 19–Dynasty 20, about 1213–1069 BCE
Limestone and pigment
15.2 × 3.2 cm (6 × 1.3 in)

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Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Egyptian artists often made sketches on flakes of limestone, called ostraca. This example shows how the preliminary outline was done in red pigment, then corrected, and finished in black. Often these sketches were the work of two craftsmen, a draftsman and a master artist. This ostracon shows a king wearing a crown with streamers and a pleated kilt. He leans on a standard topped with the ram-headed emblem of the god Amun.

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