The iconography of animal musicians in Deir el-Medina and other related objects

Abstract EN

The artisans of Dier el-Medina during the 18th to the 20th Dynasties produced thousands of sketches on ostraca.

Most of these drawings were out of the conventional depiction of animals in ancient Egypt.

Its illustration figured animals imitating or parodying human activities.

This paper studies these ostraca during the Ramesside period, along with papyrus from London and Berlin.

However, the subject of animal musicians was part of a wide range of drawings representing animals behaving like people.

Although some of these drawings were an imitation of tombs' reliefs by replacing humans with animals.

Musicians like monkeys and foxes were the wider motifs depicted on these ostraca.

Moreover, the double flute and the harp were the most common musical instruments used by these animals.

Generally, the purpose of these ostraca varied from a training sketch, and a tool for passing the time of the workmen.

Moreover, it was also considered a satire of officials, and an expression of the discontent of the artisans of Dier el-Medina.

to a mere fable story transferred orally without a written text.

The multiplicity of opinions is a clear indication of their ambiguity, and conclusions are often speculative and a matter of continued controversy.