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Hieratic Ostracon with the beginning of "The Wisdom of Amenemope"

Late Period, Persian Period
525–404 BCE
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).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hieratic Ostracon with the beginning of "The Wisdom of Amenemope"
  • Period: Late Period, Persian Period
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 27
  • Date: 525–404 BCE
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Tomb of Nespakashuty (TT 312, MMA 509a), MMA excavations, 1922–23
  • Medium: Limestone, ink
  • Dimensions: H. 24 × W. 11.5 cm (9 7/16 × 4 1/2 in.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1926
  • Object Number: 26.3.165
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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