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Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) · ostracon

Ostracon with hieratic inscription

Source of record: Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

New Kingdom, Ramesside–Late Period, Dynasty 19–26, ca. 1295–525 B.C. Limestone, ink. H. 15 × W. 9.9 × D. 2.5 cm (5 7/8 × 3 7/8 × 1 in.). From: East of Pabasa, Radim, Asasif, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: MMA excavations, 1918–19. Credit: Rogers Fund, 1919.

The same text in other collections

Linked as the same object. Each record below describes this same artifact or text from a different angle.

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 small, irregular limestone ostracon inscribed in dark ink with a dense column/script resembling Egyptian hieratic (non-decorative writing).

The image shows an irregular fragment of limestone, roughly rectangular in outline, with rounded edges and a chipped surface. Across most of the front face, black/dark ink forms several horizontal and vertical bands of compact signs consistent with hieratic writing. No figurative imagery, carved relief, or formal cartouche framework is visible. Near the lower right and central lower area there are a few lighter red/brown specks consistent with staining or pigment from the ink or quarrying; no separate painted scenes are apparent. The back side is not visible, and there are no borders or margins clearly delineated beyond the natural edges of the fragment.

hieroglyphic only New Kingdom, Ramesside–Late Period (as catalogued) good
Materials limestoneink (black/dark)
Signs hieratic/administrative-style text lines (multiple signs, not individually legible at this resolution) ×60
Visible text "Hieratic inscription consisting of multiple densely written lines; specific transliteration not legible from the provided image resolution."

Connections

Found at Asasif
Materials Limestone

Cross-references (1)

  • PNM-Object pnm:83914456 tier-2 (inventory-match)
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.