Ancient Egyptian Blue Glazed Faience Shabti

$1,131.02

A very finely modelled Ancient Egyptian blue glazed faience shabti, featuring a dorsal pillar to the reverse. The shabti is shown wearing a tripartite wig and a plaited false beard and holding a pick and a hoe in his crossed arms. The body has been inscribed with hieroglyphs in a T-shaped bar formation. The moulded details remain very well preserved, with very clear facial features and hieroglyphs.

Date: Circa 525-343 BC
Period: Late Period, 27th-30th Dynasty
Condition: Very fine condition, few earthly encrustations on the sides. The piece has been mounted on a custom-made stand ideal for display. The height given includes the stand.

SOLD

SKU: CG-39 Category: Tags: , ,

Shabtis  or ushbatis are among the most numerous of all Egyptian antiquities, as they played a major role in funeral rites. Indeed, they were intended to act as servants for the deceased and to perform any manual labour for their master in the afterlife. For this to be possible, it was necessary that each shabti present in the grave had the name of their master inscribed on it and also a summoning spell to which they replied. In fact, shabti – or ushabti – translates as “the answerer”. Such figurines could also be inscribed with passages from the Book of the Dead, the intention of which was to secure safety for the deceased in the afterlife. The name Padiwsr inscribed in hieroglyphs to the shabti body, might be referred to Padiwsr/Padiusir, Hellenised as Petosiris, a priest of the goddess Smentet, a lesser known goddess associated with Isis and Osiris, and a priest of the temple of Ptah-un, the patron god of Memphis.

To discover more about Egyptian shabtis, please visit our relevant blog post: How Ancient Egyptian Shabtis and Funerary Statuettes Watched Over the Dead.

Dimensions L 16.0 x W 5.2 cm
Country

Culture

Faience

Region

Reference: For a similar item, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, item 29.1845

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