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Ancient Egyptian Faience Ushabti browse these categories for related items... Directory: Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian: Pre AD 1000: Item # 643896
Janus Antiquities By Appointment New Jersey (330) 612-3957 Guest Book SOLD |
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Beginning in the Middle Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians were buried with small human statues called shabtis. These figures were to serve as servants in the afterlife, performing any work necessary so that the deceased could enjoy eternity in peace. This was accomplished by inscribing Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead on the shabti, which reads: "O shabti, if the deceased is called upon to do any of the work required there in the necropolis at any time...you shall say, 'Here I am, I will do it.'" The Egyptians felt that the afterlife could involve a lot of work because food production was still needed to support the deceased. This would necessitate clearing the land, irrigating fields, shifting the sand from east to west, and other tasks described in funerary texts. As no one was particularly anxious to do this work after death, the popularity of shabtis exploded. By the Late Period, the term "shabti" had been largely replaced with "ushabti," which means "answerer." To enhance their efficiency, shabtis produced in later periods, like this one, were equipped with implements like hoes and baskets. Ideally, a person would have been buried with as many as 300-400 ushabtis along with up to 36-40 overseer ushabtis whose role was to manage the workers. Naturally, the quality of these shabtis depended greatly on the wealth of the deceased, and many were uninscribed and otherwise unadorned like this one.
Shabtis are getting TREMENDOUSLY hard to find at decent prices these days...too many collectors are hoarding them! This is a nice, intact piece for the money, and a great starter for a new collector of Egyptian antiquities. For similar small, uninscribed ushabtis from the end of the Late Period, see Chappez, "Les Figurines Funeraires Egyptiennes du Musee d'art et d'historie et de Quelques Collections Privees," #188-191. This piece is ex-Boston Museum of Fine Arts. AGE: End of the Late Period, ca. 400-332 B.C. CONDITION: Intact with no repairs. In perfect shape save for some encrustation, with red collection numbers penned on the back. DIMENSIONS: 3.2" tall (8.1 cm) |
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