Model of a pharaoh’s head,

3rd–2nd century BCE

The survival of objects associated with the creation of art offers important information on ancient modes of representation and production that were employed by Egyptian artisans, whose identities and methods have not otherwise survived in the historical record. Molds could be used to make multiple iterations of the same object, as seen with the mold for a fish amulet, while small models offered a physical example of an individual, object, or animal that could be replicated by numerous craftsmen at once. Some of these are more schematic, offering only a rough approximation of a form, while others are more precise, such as the model for the head of a pharaoh, which features the proper proportions, marked out on a grid, on the back of the head. There also survive examples of practice, where similar animals or bodies were repeatedly carved into stone as their makers perfected their technique.