An Ostracon Depicting a King at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC 1920.255)

Publication of a gured ostracon held in the Art Institute of Chicago. Likely deriving from a western Theban context, the limestone flake bears a sketch of a king on the recto and textual inscriptions on the verso. An evaluation of the drawing, as well as an edition of the previously unpublished hieratic texts, is presented. The pristine surface of the figured recto in contrast to the multiple uses on the verso suggests that the object had a complex use history. Uses as a ritual object and for scribal practice are considered.