Ostracon with fighting bulls
Description
New Kingdom, Ramesside, Dynasty 19–20, ca. 1295–1070 B.C. Limestone, paint. l. 18.5 cm (7 5/16 in), w. 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in). Probably from: Deir el-Medina, Upper Egypt, Thebes. Subject: Bulls. Credit: Rogers Fund, 1924.
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 painted limestone ostracon showing two stylized fighting bulls with long horns and decorative ground lines.
The image depicts a pale, chipped limestone ostracon. Painted in dark brown/black and some ochre/red lines are two facing bulls. Each bull has a prominent head and long curved horns; the left bull appears with a foreleg raised as if in motion, while both bodies are outlined with internal stripes/markings. Small dot/line accents occur along the ground between the animals, suggesting stylized action or framing. No clearly legible hieroglyphic text, royal name cartouches, or recognizable divine iconography are visible in the provided view. The surface shows cracks and flaking consistent with age; several paint lines remain intact along the outlines.
Cross-references (4)
- Wikidata-Q Q116247266 tier-1
- Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- Inventory-Number 24.2.27 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- MET-Object 544744 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access).
- 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.