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Egyptian Collection/HK : Faience Ushabti of the 26th Dynasty
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Faience Ushabti of the 26th Dynasty - PF.0479
Origin: Sakhara, Egypt
Circa: 664
BC
to 525
BC
Dimensions:
6.25" (15.9cm) high
Collection: Egyptian
Style: Late Dynastic Period
Medium: Faience
Location: UAE
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Description |
The figure is inscribed with a text of eight lines which
translates as follows: 1) Illumine Osiris--Har, child of
Hathor in the necropolis, when he says: O; 2)
Ushabti, this O Osiris--Har, child of Hathor in the
necropolis; do the work that is to be done; 3) there in
the necropolis. Then you will smite there, as a man
about his affairs; 4) Behold me, say you, when one
counts; 5) at any time, to act there in the necropolis;
6) to cause to grow the fields, to cause to fill the
channels; 7) to carry sand from the east; 8) to the
west. Behold me, say you.
Ushabti figure, also spelled shabti or shawabty, any
of the small statuettes made of wood, stone, or
faience that are often found in large numbers in
ancient Egyptian tombs. The figures range in height
from approximately 4 to 20 inches (10 to 50 cm) and
often hold hoes in their arms. Their purpose was to
act as a magical substitute for the deceased owner
when the gods requested him to undertake menial
tasks in the afterlife; the word ushabti is usually
translated as “answerer.” During the New Kingdom
(1539–1075 BCE) the figures were made to resemble
the tomb owner by being fashioned in the form of a
mummy bearing the owner’s name.
- (PF.0479)
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