An ostracon is a shard of discarded pottery or a small piece of stone with writing or drawings scratched or painted onto the surface.
The example on display is a piece of creamy-white stone about the size of a large dinner plate but broken into an irregularly shaped oblong. The surface of the stone is rough and uneven and has the outline of a man drawn on it in red ink. He is drawn in profile with his back to the left side of the stone and his head and feet at the top and bottom edge. His head is the most detailed part of the sketch and is looking up and forward to the right.
The man depicted wears a wig, which were worn predominantly by the elite in Egyptian society, and a band across his forehead features a snake, which shows the man to be a Pharaoh. His eyes are outlined to represent the kohl eyeliner that was traditionally worn to make the eyes look larger and as protection to ward off evil, and around his neck he wears a close-fitting necklace.
The man’s arms are lifted to shoulder height and stretched in front of the body with both elbows flexed to 45 degrees. Although his head faces forward, the body is slightly twisted to the right so that the left arm reaches beyond the right. He stands in a typical posture with the left foot placed in front of the right to convey a sense of power and influence.
Around his waist is wrapped a short skirt or kilt fastened at the front and he is tall and slender with wide shoulders, a lean and muscular body, narrow hips and long legs. Pharaohs were represented as idealised and ultra fit young men. This ostracon would have been a trial or practice sketch made by an artist about to decorate the wall of a tomb.