Karl Schefold (Austrian German: [ˈʃeːfɔld] ⓘ; 26 January 1905 – 16 April 1999) was a classical archaeologist based in Basel, Switzerland.
After attending high school at the Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium in Stuttgart, he began his study of the ancient world at Tübingen and Heidelberg University.
He declined numerous appointments in other countries; through his research, and the foundation of a museum of antiquities, he developed the field of archaeology at Basel.
Schefold was known for his work on late-classical Attic vases, on the art of the Scythians in southern Russia, and his excavations at Larisa and Eretria.
After finishing the five-volume Griechische Sagenbilder ("Greek myth in art", 1964–1993) he focused in his last years on revising and expanding the book Die Bildnisse der antiken Dichter, Redner und Denker ("Depictions of ancient poets, orators, and thinkers", 1943, revised edition 1997); a summary and revision of his earlier work, Der religiöse Gehalt der antiken Kunst und die Offenbarung ("The religious content of ancient art and the Revelation", 1998), and Hugo von Hofmannsthals Bild von Stefan George ("Hugo von Hofmannsthal's depiction of Stefan George", 1998).