Shabtis or ushabtis are among the most numerous of all Egyptian antiquities, as they played a major role in funeral rites. The earliest shabtis were seen from 2100 BC and their original function, taking over from tomb models, was to act as a servant for the deceased and to perform any manual labour for their master in the afterlife. This role developed and deepened over time, with shabtis becoming a personal substitute for their master. Depending on the period, the name and the decorative elements of shabtis varied. The term shabti was used in the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom, shawabti was used from the 17th Dynasty to the 19th but did not become popular, and ushabti was used from the 21st until the Ptolemaic period. Small shabtis were sometimes left undecorated or simply had the name of their deceased. More elaborate examples included passages from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, the ‘Shabti Spell’. Late period ushabtis went through a revival after the unrefined examples of the Third Intermediate Period.
During Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069–525 BC), shabtis became incredibly numerous, often mass-produced in blue faience, with distinct “worker” figures holding tools (hoe/basket) and smaller “overseer” figures (whip/kilt/apron) supervising them, signifying a shift towards treating them as actual servants, despite a general decline in quality but increase in beautiful glazes and intricate details for elite burials.
To discover more about these fascinating objects, please visit our relevant post: Egyptian Shabti: Companions in the Afterlife.
