Sketch of a dog
New Kingdom, Ramesside
Ostraca (plural for ostracon) are potsherds used as surfaces for writing or drawing. By extension, the term is applied to chips of limestone which were employed for similar purposes. Figural ostraca vary from sketches of a single feature to polychrome painted compositions. They were used to practice drawing, draft compositions, and copy scenes. However, some ostraca were created for more durable functions, used as cult images in religious practice and deposited at tombs or shrines as sites of access to the divine. Ostraca on which animals appear acting as humans have been variously interpreted as playful jokes, political satire, or illustrations to fables or myths in the oral tradition. This sketch of a dog is possibly of the last type, since dogs in formal contexts are usually depicted in profile so it is unlikely a practice piece.
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