Object Description
A spectacular example of an ancient Egyptian ushabti, made from green-brown faience and extensively decorated with inscribed hieroglyphs. The Late Period ushabti is typical in its design, of mummified form, with its arms crossed at the chest. On his head he wears a striated lappet wig and a long plaited false beard. In his hands he holds the tools needed for the afterlife, two hoes depicted in relief. To the reverse is a hatched seed bag, flung over the left shoulder. The rest of the reverse remains relatvely plain but does incorporate an integrated dorsal pillar.
Along the ushabti’s body are eight horizontal bands of inscribed hieroglyphs, dissected by inscribed lines. The text includes the name of the deceased and his title, along with a variant of Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. Due to the direction of the hieroglyphs, the spell reads from right to left. The first row includes the opening Osiris call, the name of the owner, Hor-maa-kheru, and his title as royal scribe. The transliteration follows below. Whilst the majority of the signs follow the pattern listed, the occasional ending hieroglyphs spill onto the next line. Lines 5 and 6 have been combined on one line to continue the translation.
i wšbty ipn ir ip.tw Wsir sš-nsw ḥr-m3ꜥ-hrw (O, this ushabti, if one counts the Osiris, the royal scribe, Hor-maa-kheru)
ms mr.t nt r irt k3t nb ir im m ẖrt-nṯr (born of Mert-Neith, to do all the works which are wont to be done there in the God’s land)
ist ḥw sḏb (w) im m s r ẖrt.f (now indeed obstacles are implanted therewith, as a man at his duties)
mk wi k3.tn r nw nb irt im (“Here I am”, you shall say, at any time to serve there)
r srwḏ sḫt r smḥy wḏbw r ẖnt sꜥy n i3btt r imntt ts pẖr (whether to make the field grow, to irrigate the shore, to cross the sands of the East to the West, or vice versa)
mk wi k3tn ip.tw (“Here I am” you shall say, and you shall be counted)
m wnwt.f nb ḥw.tn sḏb.f ḫft gm.n.f sp (each in his hour. Strike down his evil, as he finds evil).
Height of the ushabti without the stand: 18.5cm
Date: Circa 570 – 526 BC
Period: Late Period, Dynasty 26