Hieratic, the cursive form of hieroglyphs, was used most commonly for writing literature, business and personal letters, and record keeping. It was the first form of writing that Egyptian students learned. A youthful scribe wrote a hieratic inscription on this exercise board in the early New Kingdom. The text is an extract from "The Instructions of King Amunemhat" composed in Dynasty 12, nearly 400 years before the board was inscribed. The king urges his son: "Be on on your guard against all who are subordinate to you . . . trust no brother, know no friend, make no intimates." This "teaching" belonged to a common literary genre of classical texts often used to practice writing.
Catalogue Description:
Text: "Instructions of Amenemhat I."
