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Plaque painted with names of Ramesses IV on one side and as a scribal palette on the other

New Kingdom, Ramesside
ca. 1166–1158 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 124
Whether all ancient Egyptian kings were literate or not, only rarely did they show themselves writing. The oblong plaque is inscribed on one side with Ramesses IV’s cartouches, and on the other, it is decorated to resemble a scribal palette, with areas of red and black ink and a slot to which the reed pens were placed (see, for example, 16.10.298).

Mostly, kings emphasized the monumental texts they had inscribed on stelae and temple walls. A few kings, however—especially of the New Kingdom—highlighted papyri and ink. Scenes of royal literacy also appear in this period on temple walls, on which the king writes alongside Thoth, the divine scribe, especially when inscribing his own name on the leaves of a sacred tree (the Ished tree). Through its text and decoration, this plaque might be evoking these various notions of writing,

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Plaque painted with names of Ramesses IV on one side and as a scribal palette on the other
  • Period: New Kingdom, Ramesside
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 20
  • Reign: reign of Ramesses IV
  • Date: ca. 1166–1158 BCE
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Travertine (Egyptian alabaster)
  • Dimensions: H. 8.7 cm (3 7/16 in)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1908
  • Object Number: 08.202.30
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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