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AMARNA-EES
Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) · ostracon
Ostracon with a Royal Head
Description
<p>This sketch depicts a king wearing the "blue crown," a collar, and two strings of gold beads. His stubble beard is a sign of mourning. The features of the king make it likely that Seti I is represented. The elaborate execution of the royal image, which is without doubt the work of a master painter, differs from the depiction of the two hands. This sketch was probably a model for trainees, and was later reused for other training purposes by an experienced artist. It is interesting that the painter of the royal head has chosen the topic of a stubble-bearded king, which was not part of the official motifs.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/32.1' rel='external'>Ostracon with a Royal Head</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
A limestone ostracon bearing an ink drawing of a royal profile head with associated regalia, plus surrounding decorative/inscribed markings.
The object is a roughly rectangular, irregular piece of pale limestone with a painted ink figure. Centered is a stylized profile of a crowned head (left-facing) with a distinct headpiece/diadem and facial features indicated in dark line. Around the head are vertical and curved strokes that resemble hieroglyphic-style elements or schematic decorative marks. The left side includes a narrow falcon- or architectural-looking shape with radiating/roof-like lines and a grid-like pattern beneath. On the right side, tall vertical strokes terminate near the head. No clear cartouche enclosing royal names is visible in the provided image. The ink image is somewhat faded but remains legible as a single composed drawing rather than a densely filled text.
religious
unknown
good
Materials
limestoneink
Signs
Unidentified hieroglyphic-style strokes/drawing elements (including grid-like pattern and vertical marks) ×5
Inscriptions (1)
Inscription #1
English description
[Number] 3111
Cross-references (2)
- Walters-AccNum 32.1 tier-2
- Walters-id 5104 tier-2
Similar inscriptions · by content embedding
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.