Ostracon with Seated Child

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 like humans, have been interpreted as playful jokes, political satire, or illustrations to fables or myths in the oral tradition.


This sketch depicts a figure seated on a cushion, wearing only bracelets, with the left hand draped over the knees and the right towards the mouth. The figure’s position and nudity suggest that it represents a child. Traces of red ink show how the artist did a preliminary sketch before outlining the image in black, making alterations to the right upper arm and left-hand position.