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Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK

All the ostraka described below come from the collection of R.G. Gayer-Anderson (1881-1945). He lived in Egypt between 1906 and 1942 as an army medical officer, senior civil servant and private collector. In 1942 he left his house in Cairo, called Beit el-Kreatlia, to the Egyptian government as a museum of Islamic art. He moved to Lavenham, England, one of the best preserved wool towns in Suffolk. With his twin brother, he restored Little Hall, a 14th-century house built by a family of clothiers. They filled the house with a variety of art and artefacts collected during their extensive travels.
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Gayer-Anderson donated part of his collection of Egyptian antiquities to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The artefacts arrived between 1943 and 1949.
In total, the Fitzwilliam Museum received 46 ostraka. 15 of these have sketches on both verso and recto, bringing the total number of representations to 61. The majority - 54 - are images of figures, only 4 have text.
Little Hall, the Tudor house of
Gayer-Andersons' at Lavenham
The British Museum also received some artefacts form the collection.
The Gayer-Anderson' cat
British Museum
Bronze
Late Period, about 664-332 BC.
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The material is mostly limestone, there are 2 pieces of terracotta and 1 grey stone. The ostraka below are all painted, but the museum's collection also includes examples of figures carved in relief - products of sculpture rather than drawing.
The ostraka are drawn in black and/or red ink, but yellow and grey pigments also appear. The exact provenance of the collection is unknown. They are dated on the basis of stylistic criteria or names in inscriptions. They belong to the 18th-20th dynasties. Most of the pieces are thought to be from Deir el-Medina.

Images of Fitzwilliam Museum objects and any Fitzwilliam Museum text reproduced on this website are ©The Fitzwilliam Museum and are subject to The Fitzwilliam Museum's Website Copyright Terms and Conditions which can be read at
http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/website/tou.

Photography by Andy and Lenka Peacock, all images reproduced by kind permission of the Fitzwilliam Museum,
www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
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Ostrakon of an unshaven stone mason
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
E.GA.4324a.1943.
Limestone
13.5x15 cm.
Red and black line drawing
Ramesside period, 1200-1153 BC
Drawing of the head and upper arms of a stonemason
who is leaning forward while working. The man's head is bald, his beard is dotted and his mouth is open. He may be singing as he works, or he may be gasping for air in a dusty tomb. He has an excessively large ear and a bulbous nose. He holds the tools of his trade, a copper chisel in his left hand and a wooden mallet in his right. The subject of this ostrakon is unique, unparalleled in official Egyptian art.
On the back of the ostrakon the scribe Imyshe, son of Nebnefer, makes an offering to the serpent goddess Meretseger.
Ostrakon of a man driving a bull
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
E.GA.4288.1943.
Limestone
15x12 cm.
New Kingdom
Possibly from Deir el-Medina
The man's body is painted red, his wig and kilt are grey and the stick in his left hand is black. The bull is driven in front of the man. The animal is outlined in black and painted red with black markings - composed of patterns of dots, stripes and solid patches of colour. The scene is beautifully drawn. It is one of the finest examples of its type.
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Ostrakon of a bull
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge E.GA.4297.1943.
Limestone
8x7 cm.
Black line drawing
New Kingdom
Drawing in black of a bull walking to the right. The motif is common in Egyptian art and this example is the product of a stylistic tradition that is hundreds of years old. Such bulls can be found in the wall reliefs of almost every tomb, in scenes of agriculture, cattle breeding, processions of sacrificial offerings or funerals. Although this drawing is simple, it is the work of a skilled artist. There are faint lines of correction in several places: along the shoulder, the back and the croup.
Ostraka of monkeys
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
E.GA.4292.1943. E.GA.4293.1943.
11x9.75 cm (left), 8.5x13 cm (right)
Late 18th dynasty - early 19th dynasty, 1350-1250 BC
Black line drawing, with red, yellow and grey paint
Two monkeys wearing belts or ribbons are depicted on the two ostraka. It is not possible to determine whether the author(s) of these drawings were trying to depict their beloved pets or whether the drawings reflect a narrative, but they do not look like preliminary drawings for walls in tombs. The presence of the girdles tied around their waste suggests that they are domestic animals (Houlihan, 1996, 210). In the scene on the left, the monkey climbs a trunk of a dom palm to pick some of its ripe nuts, turning his head to look over his shoulder. He is sketchily painted, his face is human and he wears a stepped male wig. His human aspect may refer to the mischievous behaviour of a child.
 
In the scene on the right, a monkey runs on all fours looking over his shoulder at a person walking behind him holding a stick. The person is only partly preserved. The drawing shows more detail than the previous one.
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Ostrakon showing a war chariot
speeding over rocky ground
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
E.GA.4287.1943.
Limestone
15x8.5 cm.
Black and red outlines with black and red paint
New Kingdom
Ostrakon of a woman riding on a stallion
E.GA.4290.1943.
Limestone
11.3x7.5 cm.
Black and red line drawing with red paint.
19th dynasty
The drawing shows a naked rider, possibly a woman, riding a stallion to the right. The ground line slopes upwards. The horse has a short, upright mane and is bridled. The woman is holding a stick or staff in her left hand. She wears an amulet on a long cord around her neck.
The black outline has been superimposed on preliminary red lines. Both bodies are painted red.
Figures on horseback are not common, but do occur in ancient Egyptian art. A similar scene on an ostrakon in Berlin has been identified as Astarte, the Syrian goddess of love and war. It is possible that this ostrakon depicts the same theme.
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Ostrakon of a cat
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
E.GA.3859.1943.
9x11 cm
Limestone
Red line drawing
New Kingdom
This piece bears the drawing of a sitting cat looking to the right. Both the first sketch and the final drawing were done in red. This simple portrait was probably a practice piece.
Drawing of an unkept man carrying bags on a stick, possibly a yoke
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge E.106.1949.
Terracotta
13.9x9.8 cm.
Late dynasty XIX - 3rd Intermediate
Period, 1295-1069 BC
This pot-sherd shows a farmer with baskets or sacks slung over his shoulder. The man is depicted as bald, with stooped shoulders, thin limbs and a walking stick in his free hand.
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Drawing of a seated Seth-animal
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge E.GA.4300.1943.
Limestone
9.5x8 cm.
Black line drawing over red outline
New Kingdom
Possibly from Deir el-Medina.
This small ostrakon shows a hieroglyph in the shape of the seated animal Seth, looking to the right. Along the right broken edge part of the outline of a cartouche can be seen, which may have contained the name of one of the Ramesside kings. There are traces of some vertical red lines on the upper broken edge.
Drawing of a lion's head
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
E.GA.4289.1943.
13.5x10 cm.
Pink pottery
Red and black line drawing
Ramesside Period
This motif of a lion's head looking to the left occurs 3 times on the inner and outer sides of this fragment of a flat pottery plate. On the inside (pictured) is a large study of a lion's head with its mouth closed, executed in black paint with quick, broad strokes. Below this drawing, in red, is the bold sketch of the rearing head of a lion about to charge, with its jaws open and tongue outstretched as if it were attacking. The drawings are the work of a master.
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Drawing of an owl
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
E.GA.3858.1943.
Limestone
9.5x14.5 cm.
Red and black line drawing
Ramesside Period, about 1305-1080 B.C.
This well-preserved ostrakon bears a detailed drawing of the upper half of the hieroglyphic character "m", an owl. The initial outline is drawn in red and superimposed in black. The arrangement and shape of the various feathers are skilfully and precisely reproduced. Although the head is fully turned, the neck, right wing and left leg (which is only hinted at) are shown in side view. The drawing can be classified as a study for a hieroglyphic model.
Drawing of a jackal
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
E.GA.4291.1943.
10x11 cm.
Red and black line drawing, with black paint
Ramesside Period
This fragment depicts a scene with a jackal wearing a robe and holding a sceptre. Below is a captive calf/goat.
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Large ostrakon
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.E.GA.4298.1943.
42x27 cm.
Limestone
Black line drawing recto and verso
From Thebes, possibly from Deir el-Medina
According to inscription, 19th dynasty
The artist of this ostrakon seems to have explored a number of themes. The most prominent is the depiction of a shrine doorway in the centre. To the left of the door is the figure of the standing donor. He is an official, indicated by the staff he holds in his left hand. Above him there is a drawing of the head of the god Ptah with cap and beard. To the right of the door is a line of hieroglyphic text which reads "Conquer the people of the Nine Bows" (a symbolic reference to Egypt's enemies). The whole drawing is an example of the finest craftsmanship and must have been made as a design for a door which the owner had commissioned with this sketch.
 
The Nine Bows
This is an ancient term used to refer collectively to the enemies of ancient Egypt. The name may have come from their use of bows and arrows in warfare, or from their ritual of physically "breaking the bows" of defeated enemies as a metaphor for military defeat - but the original reason is not known. The actual enemies referred to were a matter of choice, reflecting current contact and relations with neighbours - but the selection generally included Asians, Sand Dwellers and Nubians.

The Nine Bows were often depicted as a number of arrows (not always nine) and this design was used to decorate some royal furniture and thrones. The Nine Bows could also be depicted on monuments as rows of bound prisoners. The Nine Bows surmounted by a jackal was also the 'seal' of the Valley of the Kings.
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Shabti of Sennedjem
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge E.9.1887.
Limestone with pigment
Height 21.5 cm.
From Deir el-Medina, Tomb 1 of Sennedjem
New Kingdom, 19th dynasty, reign of Seti I,
1294-1279 BC
The shabti holds a broad-bladed hoe against his right shoulder and a pointed hoe against his left shoulder. A basket for seeds is depicted on his back, suspended from a rope over his right shoulder. The text calls upon the shabti as a servant, literally "hearer of the call", to act on behalf of Sennedjem when needed in any of the works being carried out at the necropolis.
Sources:
1.The museum's own labels
2. Brunner, Emma : Egyptian artists' sketches : figured ostraka from the Gayer-Anderson collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Leiden : Netherlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut le Istanbul, 1979.
3.Images of Fitzwilliam Museum objects and any text by the Fitzwilliam Museum reproduced on this site are ©The Fitzwilliam Museum and are subject to The Fitzwilliam Museum's Website Copyright Terms and Conditions which can
be read at http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/website/tou.
Further bibliography
Anchor 1
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