ancientart:Egyptian shabti figures. Also known as ushabti, shabti were funerary figurines used in An
ancientart:Egyptian shabti figures. Also known as ushabti, shabti were funerary figurines used in Ancient Egypt, placed in the tomb of the deceased.The British Museum provides a useful description of the figures:Shabti figures probably developed from the servant figures common in tombs of the Middle Kingdom. They were shown as mummified like the deceased, with their own coffin, and were inscribed with a spell to provide food for their master or mistress in the afterlife.From the New Kingdom (about 1550-1070 BC) onwards the deceased was expected to take part in the maintenance of the ‘Field of Reeds’, where he or she lived for eternity. This meant undertaking agricultural labour, such as ploughing, sowing, and reaping the crops. The shabti figure became regarded as a servant figure that would carry out heavy work on behalf of the deceased. The figures were still mummiform (in the shape of mummies), but now held agricultural implements such as hoes. They were inscribed with a spell which made them answer when the deceased was called to work. The name ‘shabti’ means ‘answerer’.From the end of the New Kingdom, anyone who could afford to do so had a workman for every day of the year, complete with an overseer figure for each gang of ten labourers. This gave a total of 401 figures, though many individuals had several sets. These vast collections of figures were often of extremely poor quality, uninscribed and made of mud rather than the faience which had been popular in the New Kingdom. (x)Shabti are also mentioned in our ancient texts. One such example is of the scribe called Nebseni, a draughtsman in the Temple of Ptah, who commands:“Oh you shabti figure of the scribe Nebseni, son of the scribe Thena, and of the lady of the house Muthrestha, if I be called, or if I be judged to do any work whatever of the labours which are to be done in the underworld – behold, for your opposition will there be set aside – by a man in his turn, let the judgment fall upon you instead of upon me always, in the matter of sowing the fields, of filling the water-courses with water, and of bringing the sands of the east to the west.”The shabti figure replies: “I am here and will come wherever you bid me.” (x)Photo of the shabti figures taken by tribp, courtesy & currently located at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Austria. -- source link