Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, born Manlius - Tomb of El Drer, Egypt - unknown - T-Shirt

A single standing male figure, drawn in fine ink line in the Egyptian manner, holds a tall staff in one hand and an ankh in the other.

Visual Elements & Composition

The figure is set in a frontal stance with the head turned in profile to the left, the convention of ancient Egyptian relief. Pale parchment fills almost the entire field, with the figure outlined in even, pale umber strokes and very little interior shading, so the body reads through line alone. A broad beaded collar sits at the shoulders and a close-fitting cap covers the head. The staff rises the full height of the image, its upper end carrying a carved form, while the ankh hangs at hip level. The inscription at lower right reads Tomb of El Drer with a date in January.

Meaning & Symbolism

The ankh signifies life, and the staff and collar were marks of rank and office. Together they present the figure as an emblem of the tomb's occupant rather than a portrait of an individual. Travellers and draughtsmen of the nineteenth century copied tomb decoration like this before its surfaces weathered. The drawing comes from Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, an American artist born in Manlius, New York, who recorded Egyptian monuments on his travels. It is one of the field studies from which he later built his compositions of Egyptian subjects, and it shows his precise, linear method of copying ancient decoration.

Carried Across the Chest

Line drawings like this one reward a close look, and a tee puts that detail in front of you at arm's length. The tall staff runs down the centre of the chest while the ankh sits lower on the body, so the composition follows the natural shape of a torso. The pale ground of the drawing gives the umber line room to read clearly wherever the shirt is worn.