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An ancient Egyptian Faience Ushabti dating to approximately 1000 BC, Egypt's 21st Dynasty.
A carefully crafted piece made thousands of years ago from molded faience. Faience was a popular material in ancient Egypt as, when fired, this glass like substance created a spectacular, vibrant glaze. This charming shabti has also been painted in black pigment, most of which still survives.
He is depicted mummiform, holding two hoes, agricultural implements for working the land -- a task he would be required to do in the afterlife. Supporting his role as a worker of the land, the figure is shown carrying a seed basket over his back. He wears a tripartite wig with seshed headband outlined in black.
Traces of hieroglyphics survive on the front, which will identify the deceased individual and recite a form of the so-called "shabti spell".
Height mounted: 5 1/2 inches.
Provenance:
Ex. New york fine art auction 2007
Consigned by a NY private collector.
Shabtis:
Ushabtis or Shabtis are ancient Egyptian funerary figures, made to serve their deceased owner in the afterlife by carrying out the menial tasks that he/she would be required to do. Ancient Egyptian religious belief held that the afterlife was a world not too dissimilar from our own, where individuals would be required to carry out the same everyday tasks, use their possessions and be reacquainted with friends and family.
Following from this belief came the idea of the Shabti, model figures that could the placed with the deceased in his tomb and would be imbued with life in the netherworld, performing many of the tasks the deceased would not want to do! One often sees, as with the present example, shabtis inscribed with hieroglyphic text delineating the name of the deceased and the "shabti spell" - a command that would help the shabti come to life.
A typical example would be as follows:
"Oh this Shabti,
If the Osiris, [name of deceased]
is called upon for any work that is to be done yonder in the netherworld,
or an unpleasant task is imposed upon him,
there, as a man at his duties,
Here I am, you shall say.
If you are detailed
at any time to serve there,
to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the riverbanks,
to ferry the sand from east to west,
and back again,
Here I am! you shall say."1
Third Intermediate Period:
This shabti dates to approximately 1000 BC, during the 21st Dynasty. This dynasty falls in Egypt's Third Intermediate Period, so named owing the the period of instability that existed for much of the time.
References:
1Adapted from Stewart, Egyptian Shabtis, Shire 1995. p.49.
A very rare Ancient Egyptian object dating to a fascinating period of History.
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