Artist's Sketch of Pharaoh Spearing a Lion

Artist's Sketch of Pharaoh Spearing a Lion is an ostracon drawing from the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt (ca. 1186–1070 B.C., part of the Ramesside period). It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.^[1]

Artist's Sketch of Pharaoh Spearing a Lion
Year	Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt
Location	Metropolitan Museum of Art
Accession No.	26.7.1453
Identifiers	The Met object ID: 544076

Early history and creation

This is a piece of limestone sketched with ink. It was a trial sketch, though the final has not been found in any tombs nor does the figure conform to new kingdom proportions, that was discarded in the Valley of the Kings.^[1] It was discovered at the Tomb of Tutankhamun, near the entrance, during excavations in 1920.^[1]

Description and interpretation

The work depicts a Ramesside pharaoh spearing a lion. The lion symbolizes the enemies of Egypt. The back of the work has a section of hieratic text, which reads: "The slaughter of every foreign land, the Pharaoh—may he live, prosper, and be healthy."^[1] Hieratic text is a term for cursive writing, which had been around and evolving since as early as the 2nd dynasty^[2].

Back of the ostracon, featuring hieratic text

Front of the ostracon, featuring figural image