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Egyptian Antiquities :
Egyptian Ushabtis : Egyptian Faience Ushabti
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Egyptian Faience Ushabti - CK.0854
Origin: Israel (Samaria)
Circa: 664
BC
to 525
BC
Dimensions:
4.25" (10.8cm) high
x 1.25" (3.2cm) wide
Collection: Late Kingdom
Style: Ushabti
$1,500.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Perhaps no single object
epitomizes the spirit of ancient
Egypt better than the ushabti.
Shaped like a divine mummy, the
ushabti evokes the magical side of
Egyptian belief in an afterlife, while
the two hoes clutched in the
hands and the basket carried on
the back recall the rural, agrarian
culture of the land. The word
ushabti (supplanting the older
term shawabti) literally means
"the answer". The function of
these little figures is described in
Chapter VI of the Book of the
Dead: "O this Ushabti! If (the
deceased) is called upon to do hard
labor in the hereafter, say thou: I
am here." The ushabti was
expected to answer the call to
work in place of the deceased, and
this passage was frequently
inscribed on the figures
themselves. Originally, a single
ushabti was placed in any given
tomb, but by the New Kingdom
the statues had come to be
regarded as servants and slaves for
the deceased rather than a
substitute, and many might be
found buried together, along with
an overseer figure. In the course
of Egyptian history, ushabti were
created from wood, stone, metal
and faience. In the cultural
renaissance of the XXVIth Dynasty
(Saite period), a green faience the
color of the Nile and evocative of
the verdant landscape in
springtime was particularly
popular. To look upon an ushabti is
to come face to face with the
mystery and magic of Egypt itself.
- (CK.0854)
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