Plaque Depicting a Quail Chick
Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)
Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
12 × 13.2 × 1.3 cm (4 3/4 × 5 1/4 × 1/2 in.)
Classification
plaque (flat object)
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
121724
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Remarkable for its lifelike detail, this plaque depicts a fledgling quail, better known to literate Egyptians as the hieroglyph for the sound w. Plaques like this one that show animals, deities, and royalty were a relatively late addition to the ancient Egyptian artistic repertoire, first appearing around 664 BCE. Their function remains a mystery—they may have been used as sculptors’ models in the training of artists, dedicated in temples as gifts to the gods, or perhaps both.
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....