An ancient Egyptian light blue faience ushabti. The mummiform figure wears a tripartite wig, and beard, the hands protrude from the wrappings holding hoes.
Late Period, XXXth Dynasty,
Ca. 380-343 BC.
Height: 4 3/4 in. (11.8 cm).
Intact
The ushabti (often translated as answerer) was placed in the tomb of the deceased among the myriad of other funerary equipment. The purpose of these figures, usually numbering 365 per tomb, was to magically answer when, in the afterlife, the deceased was called upon to perform his or her agricultural duties for Pharaoh (in the form of Osiris). The figures were made in the workshops of temple priests who carefully prepared the funerary equipment and the body to ensure the deceased proper passage to and life in the afterworld. By the late period, when this example was produced, the quality of these grave goods had diminished considerably, nonetheless, the upper classes continued to include ushabtis in their burials.
Formerly in a California private collection.
GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC
Egyptian Faience Ushabti
Inv #: 1968
$650
HIXENBAVGH
ANCIENT ART
