Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 21st to 25th Dynasty, ca. 1069 to 664 BCE. A nicely-preserved, mold-formed faience ushabti standing in mummiform atop fused legs and feet. The columnar body traces upwards to rounded shoulders, with crossed arms holding the symbolic pick and hoe, and a broad collar draped across the chest. The stoic visage is comprised of raised almond-shaped eyes, a broad nose, thin lips, and cupped ears, with applied black pigment accentuating each of these areas. The head is capped with a black tripartite wig and lengthy front folds, and a rectangular seed bag is painted along the upper back. A column of black-painted hieroglyphic inscription is displayed along the front of the legs, though many of the symbols are faded and rendered illegible. A nice figural example covered in a vibrant turquoise-hued glaze. Size: 1.8" W x 6.125" H (4.6 cm x 15.6 cm); 6.7" H (17 cm) on included custom stand.
Ushabti were placed in tombs as grave goods, created to do manual labor for the deceased in the afterlife. As a result, they are frequently depicted with arms crossed, holding hoes and baskets. By the Third Intermediate period and on into the Late Dynastic period, this practice had become so necessary and elaborate that some tombs contained one worker for every day of the year and thirty-six overseers, each responsible for ten laborers. Workers like this one are from that period of enormous proliferation, and are some of our best surviving insights into ancient Egyptian funerary practices.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Richard Wagner collection, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, acquired in the 1960s
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#143444
Condition
Minor chips to glaze on feet, body, and head, fading and yellowing to original pigmentation commensurate with age, with light encrustations, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits throughout. Nice craquelure to glaze in some areas.