Object Description
An interesting and unusual example of an Egyptian red slip terracotta statuette of a Shabti. The figure displays the typical and distinctive attributes of Egyptian Shabtis, such as the hoe and pot, in this case simply incised to the chest. Facial features are rendered in a stylised manner, with wide-opened eyes, big mouth and pinched nose.
Shabtis (or Ushabtis) were figurines in mummified form, which were placed in Egyptian tombs to perform any manual labour required by the deceased in the afterlife, hence the hoe and the pot carried by the Shabti. Shabti dolls are the most numerous type of artefact to survive from ancient Egypt (besides scarabs). As noted, they were found in the tombs of people from all classes of society, poorest to most wealthy and commoner to king.
Period: Period: Late New Kingdom, circa 1200-1075