Egyptian Faience Overseer Shabti of Her-Webkhet

£ 2,000.00

An Egyptian faience funerary statuette in the form of a standing male, wearing a projecting skirt and thus recognisable as an overseer shabti. He wears a long, plain, wig, characteristically tied by a black fillet. The facial features are modelled, with the  eyes and eyebrows painted in black pigment. The remnants of a false beard can be seen, black pigment slightly visible, showing royal connections. The ushebti’s right arm is raised to his chest, holding a whip in hand, whilst the left arm hangs down his side, carrying an additional whip. There is a hieroglyphic inscription displayed down the front of the skirt and legs in additional black pigment.

The hieroglyphs read as:

𓁹 𓊩 𓁷 𓂋 𓇯 𓃀 𓅱 𓏏 𓐍 𓍱 𓆰

The transliteration reads as:

Ẉsir – Ḥry (.t) – wbḫ.t mЗʿ.t-ḫrw

The translation reads as:

The Osiris, Her-Webkhet, justified.

Date: Circa 976-944 BC
Period: Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty
Provenance: Ex Dorset collection, acquired 1980s-1990s. Found in the Bab el Gasus tomb at Deir el-Bahri, also called Cache II, Second Deir el Bahari Cache and Gate of the Priests.
Condition: Very fine. Some loss of pigment due to age.
SKU: ES-197 Categories: , Tags: ,

Shabtis, or ushebtis from the Third Intermediate Period, are small figurines buried with the deceased, intended to carry out menial labour on their owner’s behalf in the afterlife. To reflect this function, they are usually depicted in the form of a mummy holding tools in their hands – baskets, mattocks and hoes. Shabtis are among the most numerous of Egyptian antiquities, as they played a major role in funeral rites. Many shabtis are inscribed with the title and name of the owner. Some were even inscribed with a spell in which the deceased summons the shabtis to work. The “Shabti spell” is taken from chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead and is also attested in the coffin text spell 472. From the Third Intermediate Period, overseer shabtis were created to govern a group of worker shabtis. Based on the Egyptian 10-day week, there would be 36 overseers, governing a total of 365 workers. They can be identified by the flaring skirt overhanging and the whip in their hand.

This particular ushebti bears the name of its owner, Her-Webkhet and was found at the Bab el-Gasus priestly cache II, discovered in 1891. The cache contained a vast array of burials and associated items, with 254 coffins discovered and 110 shabti boxes. A significant number of these sarcophagi were gifted to other countries, to celebrate the ascension of the Khedive Abbas II of Egypt. Within the archaeological literature Her-Webkhet is known by a number of other names, including: Heroubekht, Herouben, Harweben, Herytuben, Heroub, Herubechet and Heruben. Amongst her epithets she was known as ‘Mistress of the house’, ‘Chantress of Amun-Re’ and ‘Prophetess of Mut’. Her-Webkhet had royal connections. Her mother is named as Isetemkheb D, who was the daughter of the High Priest of Amun, Menkheperre. Menkheperre ruled within the Third Intermediate Period from 1045 – 992 BC and was the de facto ruler of the south of the country.

To discover more about these fascinating objects, please visit our relevant post: Egyptian Shabti: Companions in the Afterlife.

Dimensions H 10.6 cm
Faience

Turquoise Faience

Region

North Africa

Reference: For a worker type: The British Museum, London, item EA24827

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