Ostracon of Prince Sethherkhepshef

It is a standing, figured profile of Prince Sethherkhepshef (who later ascended the throne as Ramesses VIII) in an adoration pose, with outstretched arms, a scepter in his left hand, and right hand, palm-forward. Behind Sethherkhepshef in a standard layout of figures and writing, is a vertical column of hieroglyphs reading “king’s son of his body, his beloved” with his name (Seth-her-kepesh) appearing at the end.

Egyptian ostraca were used for artist’s sketchings, cartoons-caricatures, letter documents, school–practice writing, and graffiti. This particular ostracon may be a sketch by an artisan working on the prince’s tomb.

From the Tomb (QV43), Valley of the Queens, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum of Turin. Cat. 5637