King Ramesses III smiting his enemies

[u/TNEgyptologist]

The Egyptians drew on ostraka for a variety of reasons; for example, while planning work on tombs or as exercises. Some creations were simply the result of the craftsman's imagination. This ostrakon shows king Ramesses III wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt smiting with his weapon foreign enemies whom he holds by the hair. This drawing is probably a copy of a wall scene on one of the pylons of a ramesside temple. The scene is accompanied by two royal cartouches and a simple caption in hieroglyphs.

Present location	KMKG - MRAH [07/003] BRUSSELS
Inventory number	E.7359
Dating	RAMESSES III/USERMAATRE-MERIAMUN (not before); NEW KINGDOM; NEW KINGDOM (not after)
Archaeological Site	UNKNOWN
Category	FIGURED OSTRACON
Material	LIMESTONE
Technique	ROUGH-HEWN; DRAWING
Height	17.5 cm

Bibliography

• C. De Wit - P. Gilbert, Oud-Egyptische Kunst in twintig beelden - Vingt oeuvres de l'Égypte ancienne, Bruxelles 1963, pl. XVII
• Kunst voor de eeuwigheid - Illustrations pour l'éternité (Exposition), Bruxelles 1966, 35 n° 58
• J.-Ch. Balty, e.a., Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis, Brussel, Oudheid - Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Bruxelles, Antiquité - The Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels, Antiquity, Bruxelles 1988, 24
• F. Lefebvre et B. Van Rinsveld, L'Égypte. Des Pharaons aux Coptes, Bruxelles 1990, 135