Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti
Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti
Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti
Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti
Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti

Egyptian Pale Turquoise Faience Shabti

SKU: MS.0127

Origin: Egypt
Circa: Late Period, 26th Dynasty, 664 BC to 525 BC
Dimensions: 6.75" Height (17.2 cm)
Medium: Faience

This large shabti figure is finely modeled and features a well proportioned form.  Standing on an integral rectangular plinth against a back pillar, he is depicted mummiform with the arms folded over the chest holding agricultural implements, and a seed sack over his left shoulder. He wears the prototypical striated tripartite wig and plaited false beard, and has ten lines of inscribed hieroglyphs from the Egyptian Book of the Dead below.

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$4,000.00

Colonel H. S. Roch, C.M.G., C.B.E., D.S.O., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. (1876-1960) collection, acquired between 1902-1930 on a voyage back from one of his postings in India

Nose chipped away with a flaked chip extending over left cheek. Front surface of plaited beard chipped away. Implement over right shoulder chipped away. Both hands chipped to knuckles. Chip to right elbow. some brown mottling to the surface including brown vertical streak down face, patches of brown mottling right side of wig, right side of legs and over the back of shabti. Some patches on the back of glaze flaking with burst air bubbles in these areas. Some small patches of dirt encrustation on the reverse. Ink inscribed number "855...M.T.E." on reverse.

Made in quantity, due to their important role in the funeral rites, shabtis are some of the most commonly collected pieces from ancient Egypt. They come in a variety of sizes, materials, colors, level of quality, and intrigue gained from their owner's titles.

Created as servants to perform manual labor on behalf of their masters in the afterlife, shabtis are commonly depicted holding the tools of their trade. Hoes, picks, and seed bags are the most numerous, but other implements can be found. To ensure they'd obey the decesed they were inscribed with the name of their master and a summoning spell. Their name "shabti" comes from this function of being summoned and mean "the answerer." They often also are inscribed with passages from the book of the dead, which would assist the deceased's safe passage into the afterlife.

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