Ancient Egyptian Figured Ostraca

Facsimile reissue of Anthea Page’s 1983 catalog of 82 ostraca held in the Petrie Collection, London. Ostraca are flakes of limestone or broken sherds of pottery used essentially as 'notepads' for private letters; laundry lists; records of purchases; roughly inscribed images of people, birds, and animals; and copies of literary works. In Ancient Egypt they reveal the artist-craftsman at practice, leisure and play. Apprentices, for instance, copied scenes to improve techniques; artists drew pictures to amuse, perhaps with satirical images and caricatures, or made measured studies for finished works. A wide range of trivial examples survive, together with more serious devotional, votive and dedicatory pieces.