id: 153630
accession number: 1987.156
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.156
updated: 2023-03-14 12:01:32.321000
Ostracon: Ramesses II Suckled by a Goddess, c. 1279–1213 BC. Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, reign of Ramesses II, 1279-1213 BC. Painted limestone; overall: 31.2 x 18.2 x 3.3 cm (12 5/16 x 7 3/16 x 1 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Given in honor of James N. Sherwin, Trustee 1957-1971 1987.156
title: Ostracon: Ramesses II Suckled by a Goddess
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: c. 1279–1213 BC
creation date earliest: -1279
creation date latest: -1213
current location: 107 Egyptian
creditline: Given in honor of James N. Sherwin, Trustee 1957-1971
copyright:
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culture: Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, reign of Ramesses II, 1279-1213 BC
technique: painted limestone
department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
collection: Egypt - New Kingdom
type: Sculpture
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 31.2 x 18.2 x 3.3 cm (12 5/16 x 7 3/16 x 1 5/16 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
inscription:
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: The Year in Review for 1987
opening date: 1988-02-24T05:00:00
The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
title: Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt
opening date: 1996-10-19T00:00:00
Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt
. The Cincinnati Art Museum (organizer) (October 19, 1996-January 15, 1997); The Brooklyn Museum (February 20-May 18, 1997).
title: I Faraoni
opening date: 2002-09-08T00:00:00
I Faraoni. Palazzo Grassi spa, 30124 Venice, Italy (organizer) (September 8, 2002-July 6, 2003).
title: Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt
opening date: 2016-03-13T05:00:00
Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 13-June 12, 2016).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* In the Tomb of Nefertari: Conservation of the Wall Paintings. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA (12 November 1992-21 February 1993).
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PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Baltimore, MD
date:
footnotes:
citations:
Garrison Forest School, Baltimore, MD
date: 1965
footnotes:
citations:
(Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 24-25 November 1987, no. 47)
date: November 24-25, 1987
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 1987-
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
The artisans who carved the tombs in the cemeteries lived in a tiny community not far from their workplace.
digital description:
wall description:
Ostraca (singular, ostracon) are natural limestone flakes, common to the region of Thebes. The ancient Egyptians who lived there, particularly the artisans of the royal tombs, used them extensively as writing or drawing surfaces, both for practice and for instruction. Some are almost finished works of art; others are clearly sketches. Whether passing idle time or practicing their technique, these pieces provide a rare look at an ancient artist at work. This ostracon is decorated with a scene of the king suckled by a goddess. Although his body is that of an adult, the king (identified by the inscriptions as Ramesses II) appears child size. The goddess wears a long garment of vulture's wings--she could be any of a number of protective mother or sky goddesses.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Brunner-Traut, Emma. Die altägyptischen Scherbenbilder (Bildostraka) der Deutschen Museen und Sammlungen. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1956.
page number:
url:
Sotheby's (Firm). Antiquities and Islamic Works of Art, with Property from the Joseph Ternbach Collection. 1987.
page number: no. 47, pp. 46-47
url:
Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1987." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (1988): 30-71.
page number: Reproduced: p. 46
url: www.jstor.org/stable/25160017
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page number: Reproduced: p. 4
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1991/page/n20
J. Paul Getty Museum, and Getty Conservation Institute. In the Tomb of Nefertari: Conservation of the Wall Paintings. [Malibu, Calif.]: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1992.
page number: no. 21
url:
Capel, Anne K., and Glenn Markoe, eds. Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt. New York, NY: Hudson Hills Press, 1996.
page number: no. 51, Reproduced: p. 118
url:
Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999
page number: Mentioned: p. 248-249; Reproduced: p. 248-249, Color p. 57: Mentioned: p. 248-249
url:
Ziegler, Christiane, ed. The Pharaohs. Milan: Bompiani, 2002.
page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 403
url:
Hays, Christopher B. "Egyptian Goddess Mut in Iron Age Palestine" Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 71, No. 2 (October 2012).
page number: fig. 1, p. 301
url:
Vandenbeusch, Marie, Aude Semat, and Margaret Maitland. Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2016.
page number: Mentioned: p.53; Reproduced: p. 52
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.156/1987.156_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.156/1987.156_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.156/1987.156_full.tif