Egyptian Ushabti for the Royal Scribe Hor-maa-kheru
£ 8,000.00
A spectacular example of an ancient Egyptian ushabti, made from green-brown faience and extensively decorated with inscribed hieroglyphs. The Late Period ushabti is typical in its design, of mummified form, with its arms crossed at the chest. On his head he wears a striated lappet wig and a long plaited false beard. In his hands he holds the tools needed for the afterlife, two hoes depicted in relief. To the reverse is a hatched seed bag, flung over the left shoulder. The rest of the reverse remains relatvely plain but does incorporate an integrated dorsal pillar.
Along the ushabti’s body are eight horizontal bands of inscribed hieroglyphs, dissected by inscribed lines. The text includes the name of the deceased and his title, along with a variant of Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. Due to the direction of the hieroglyphs, the spell reads from right to left. The first row includes the opening Osiris call, the name of the owner, Hor-maa-kheru, and his title as royal scribe. The transliteration follows below. Whilst the majority of the signs follow the pattern listed, the occasional ending hieroglyphs spill onto the next line. Lines 5 and 6 have been combined on one line to continue the translation.
i wšbty ipn ir ip.tw Wsir sš-nsw ḥr-m3ꜥ-hrw (O, this ushabti, if one counts the Osiris, the royal scribe, Hor-maa-kheru)
ms mr.t nt r irt k3t nb ir im m ẖrt-nṯr (born of Mert-Neith, to do all the works which are wont to be done there in the God’s land)
ist ḥw sḏb (w) im m s r ẖrt.f (now indeed obstacles are implanted therewith, as a man at his duties)
mk wi k3.tn r nw nb irt im (“Here I am”, you shall say, at any time to serve there)
r srwḏ sḫt r smḥy wḏbw r ẖnt sꜥy n i3btt r imntt ts pẖr (whether to make the field grow, to irrigate the shore, to cross the sands of the East to the West, or vice versa)
mk wi k3tn ip.tw (“Here I am” you shall say, and you shall be counted)
m wnwt.f nb ḥw.tn sḏb.f ḫft gm.n.f sp (each in his hour. Strike down his evil, as he finds evil).
Height of the ushabti without the stand: 18.5cm
Date: Circa 570 - 526 BC
Period: Late Period, Dynasty 26
Provenance: Charles Bouché (1928-2010) Collection Thierry de Maigret, Paris, 24 August 2012, lot 111 Private Collection, U.K.
Condition: Excellent. Some loss of glaze but hieroglyphs are still clear and distinct. Mounted on a custom-made stand.
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. The overseer type previously seen is no longer made. It has been suggested that a variation in inscription or size differentiated the worker and the overseer types. Like this example, it was common to see longer inscriptions from the Book of the Dead, filling the entirety of the ushabti’s body.
There are numerous examples of Hor-maa-kheru’s shabtis across museums and within private collections. The name Hor-maa-kheru would translate as Horus is justified. Due to the nature of hieroglyphs, his name is also seen as Har or simply as Hor. This was a popular name in the Late Period so his mother’s name, Meret-Neith, is equally important. This translates as Beloved of Neith. His tomb was discovered in Saqqara and was excavated by the Egyptian dragoman and antiquities dealer Youssef Masarra. The shabti’s found within his tomb came onto the art market around the time of discovery.
