Ostracon with a grid giving days of the months in hieratic against names and locations in hieroglyphs

Late Period, Persian Period

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 127

A series of ostraka from the excavation of tomb of Nespekashuty have been examined in a forthcoming study: they seem to have been left by a single not particularly skilled scribe, who mixed cursive hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts. The texts include practice lists, random jottings, dated accounts and even the beginning of a New Kingdom literary text, "The Wisdom of Amenemope."

The texts postdate the tomb, probably to the Persian Period according to palaeography (handwriting style).

Ostracon with a grid giving days of the months in hieratic against names and locations in hieroglyphs, Limestone, ink

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

Ostracon with a grid giving days of the months in hieratic against names and locations in hieroglyphs, Limestone, ink
Ostracon with a grid giving days of the months in hieratic against names and locations in hieroglyphs, Limestone, ink

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.