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Plaque Depicting a Quail Chick

A work made of limestone.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of limestone.

Date:

Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)

Artist:

Egyptian

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.

Status

On View, Gallery 50

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Ancient Egyptian

Title

Plaque Depicting a Quail Chick

Place

Egypt (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

332 BCE–30 BCE

Medium

Limestone

Dimensions

12 × 13.2 × 1.3 cm (4 3/4 × 5 1/4 × 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Museum Purchase Fund

Reference Number

1920.256

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/121724/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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