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

Ostracon

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

Description

New Kingdom, Ramesside, Dynasty 19–20, ca. 1295–1070 B.C. Limestone, ink. H. 36 × W. 20.4 × D. 6.5 cm (14 3/16 × 8 1/16 × 2 9/16 in.). From: slope above Merneptah (KV 8), Valley of the Kings, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: Carnarvon/Carter excavations, 1920. Credit: Gift of the Earl of Carnarvon, 1923.

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 roughly rectangular limestone ostracon fragment inscribed with red-brown ink, showing a standing human/divine figure and associated vertical hieroglyphic-style marks.

The image depicts an irregular, broken ostracon with a natural light-beige limestone surface. Most of the visible decoration is a red-brown ink drawing of a central standing figure rendered with a head-and-torso outline, a short kilt, and column-like supports or standards around the body. Beneath/around the figure are additional short vertical strokes and marks consistent with Egyptian hieroglyphic notation, though the individual signs are not fully legible at this resolution. No cartouche or clearly identifiable royal titulary is visible. No Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is apparent.

hieroglyphic only New Kingdom, Ramesside period (consistent with catalogue) fragmentary
Materials limestone (stone fragment)ink (red-brown)
Signs unknown vertical hieroglyphic/ink strokes ×10
Visible text "Red-brown ink figure and surrounding vertical hieroglyphic-style strokes; specific sign transcription unclear."

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1 AI reading of the photograph

Visible text (machine reading)

Red-brown ink figure and surrounding vertical hieroglyphic-style strokes; specific sign transcription unclear.

Connections

Found at Valley of the Kings
Materials LimestoneInk

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116430931 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 23.7.1 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 555557 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.