Egyptian Fragmentary Serpentine Shabti for Petamenope

Private collection, Belgium; acquired prior to 1970

Mottled creamy grey colour, with patches of brown on front. The lower part of the shabti missing with two rows of text remaining. Chip on wig above proper left eye, as well as bottom left corner of back of wig. Triangular shaped flaked chip to middle of body along the lower break line, with traces of red adhesive on front and white plaster on back. The whole of the third and fourth lines rubbed away (perhaps for insertion into a modern mount) which makes it unreadable. Some wear and pitting to the proper left front of the shabti affecting some of the hieroglyphs. Minor chips on both shoulders, right elbow, left side of wig at back. Minor scratches overall. Mounted. Old collection label on back of stand reading '119'.

As the chief Lector-Priest, Petamenope was responsible for reading texts during funerary ceremonies, as well as for advising the king on the future. His tomb in the Assassif (no. 33), near Deir el-Bahari, is one of the largest and has been described in detail by Champollion.

see serviteur funéraire momiforme, Louvre, Paris, N 2647, Numéro catalogue : Champollion Q.87

Schneider, Hans D. 1977. Shabtis: an introduction to the history of ancient Egyptian funerary statuettes with a catalogue of the collection of shabtis in the National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden, Vol. 1. Leiden: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden, p. 275.

Jansen-Winkeln, Karl 2009. Inschriften der Spätzeit, Teil III: Die 25. Dynastie. Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 480-481.