This shabti, a figurine left in the tomb to perform labor for the deceased, was made for a woman who bore the titles Lady of the House and Singer of Amun. It is as detailed as a larger statue would be, with softly modeled buttocks, a rounded chin, and painted, horizontal lines to indicate the fleshiness under the woman’s chin.^[1] Her head is tipped up slightly, and her eyes look upward. She wears a very wide, floral collar that nearly reaches her waist, and green bracelets on her wrists. Her hair (or wig) is painted dark blue, and the ends of the tresses are decorated with gold bands.1

This type of shabti reflects the transition of the figurine from depicting the mummified deceased to functioning as a substitute for the deceased ready to do agricultural labor. This example is shown with a hoe in each hand, an empty seed bag on the left shoulder, a whip on the right shoulder, and a yoke to carry water pots on the middle of the back, all detailed in paint.2

The figurine’s large floral collar closely follows contemporary coffin decoration. The yellow area of her hips and legs upon which a text is written probably represents a layer of cartonnage (layers of linen, gum, and gesso) or a sheet of linen that was wrapped around the mummy and laced up the back, the cords represented as a network of crossed lines.^[2] This may be related to contemporary mummy boards that were placed over the body.3

Additional Views of Cat. 39

Although this shabti was made for a woman, there is no indication of feminine physical characteristics. The absence of a false beard cannot be taken as a marker of gender because shabtis, as well as coffins of men of this period, inconsistently include that feature.4

This is one of a series of late–New Kingdom wood shabtis whose color scheme is red and green with black details that were applied directly to the wood, allowing the beauty of the natural material to be seen. These wood shabtis were made in multiples for a single owner, but in smaller numbers when compared to those produced in later periods (see cats. 40–42). They were usually stored in brightly painted, shrine-shaped wood boxes.5

The text, painted in horizontal lines that run from the right side of the spine to the left, nearly encircling the body, is a version of the Book of the Dead Spell 6 that calls upon the shabti to perform labor for the deceased. It addresses the deceased as the “illuminated one, the Osiris, the Lady of the House, Singer of Amun, Mayat, justified,” and continues with “He says …” The use of a masculine rather than a feminine pronoun could be the result of the artist copying from a master text made for a man, or it could be an indication of Mayat’s identification with the god Osiris, although other contemporary shabtis of women use the correct feminine pronoun.
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For more on shabtis and ushabtis, see About Shabtis and Ushabtis.7

Provenance

Reverend Chauncey Murch (1859–1907), Luxor, Egypt; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1894.8

Publication History

Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1923), 65–66, 115.9

Thomas George Allen, The Egyptian Book of the Dead: Documents in the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago (Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1960), 12–13, 66–67, 73, 77, 289, pl. 116 (as OIM 18188).
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