an anepigraph shabti Figure. With One of the Best Provenances! Ancient Egypt New Kingdom Height: 23,5 cm. "Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of the Egyptian belief in an afterlife, while the pick and hoes clutched in the hands, as well as the seed bag slung over his shoulder, recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means “the answerer.” The function of these little figures is described in Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead: “O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here.” The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but by the New Kingdom, the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased rather than as a substitute, and many might be found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal, and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the 26th Dynasty, also known as the Saite Period (the time just before this work was produced), a green faience, the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime, was particularly popular. Along the body of this ushabti is inscribed ten rows of hieroglyphic text. Such inscriptions generally offer prayers from the deceased and reveal the ushabti’s readiness to perform labor. To look upon this ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. The Egyptian Afterlife was understood as a mirror of the real world, where good and evil also had their place. The unjust and evil were punished for all eternity, while the righteous enjoyed a comfortable existence traveling with the solar god. Even so, the blessed deceased were also obligated to fulfill human needs and responsibilities, just as they were in life; Having what to eat and drink in the Hereafter was a constant concern. In the Kingdom of the Dead, where, as members of a hierarchical society governed by the gods, all the deceased—men and women, lords and servants, kings and queens—were obliged to work in the Fields of Iaru. They had to be willing to cultivate, sow, and reap the harvest. In earthly life these basic production tasks were performed by those belonging to the lowest levels of society. To avoid this fate, the Egyptians sought a magical solution: they had one or more figures of themselves made to present when the emissaries of the reigning god Osiris called upon them to fulfill their obligations. Thus, these statuettes, incorporated into the funerary trousseau of the tomb, were images that represented both the master and the servant. They are known by the name ushebtis , the initial word being sabty or shabty , a derivative of Sawab , whose meaning corresponds to the Greek word "" persea "", a sacred tree with which the ancient Egyptians began to make these funerary effigies. It is towards the Third Intermediate Period, in the 21st dynasty, around 1,080 BC when the word wsbty , that is: "" ushebty "" , begins to be used . It is from then on that "" ushebti "" derives from the verb wsb , ""to respond"", whose meaning is ""the one who responds."" Ushebtis were incorporated into the graves of ancient Egypt beginning in the First Intermediate Period. Its use increased during the Middle Kingdom, when the Egyptians began to write in the Sarcophagus Texts a formula, 472, for the ushabtis to respond to the call: «The Justified N., says, Oh you shabty , who You have been made for N, if N is called to his tasks, or if an unpleasant job is imposed on N as on any man in his work, you will say here I am. If N is called to watch over those who work there, returning over the new fields to plow the land, or to transport sand from east to west by boat, you will say here I am. The Justified N. This formula is written on the ushabtis , thus, in most cases, they appear engraved. Starting with the New Kingdom, a large number of innovations were introduced and examples with texts began to proliferate, somewhat broader texts, contemplated in chapter VI of the Book of the Dead. Even so, in many cases the text indicates only the name of the deceased, or a basic formula, with the name of a relative or the most important positions he held. The ushabtis were made of wax, especially in the beginning, later in wood, and towards the end of the Middle Kingdom stone appeared, and from the New Kingdom the material par excellence would be faience. It is known that they were produced in series thanks to the conservation of molds since in some cases the engraved texts were unfinished, since the name of the owner was missing. Its most popular form was the mummy, until the introduction, towards the end of the 18th dynasty, of figures decorated with everyday dresses. Many carried tools for working the land, such as a basket, a pickaxe, or a hoe, as a reference to the task they were expected to perform in the Hereafter on behalf of their masters. The iconography, texts, materials, colors and their location in the tomb may suggest other symbolic meanings. Sometimes they were placed inside wooden boxes, which could be ostentatious in terms of decoration or very simple. In the New Kingdom they came to be placed in miniature sarcophagi. While at the beginning they were considered replicas of the extinct, in the New Kingdom and later, they came to be seen as servants or a kind of slave of the inanimate, which is why large quantities were produced. At first an ushabti was made for the deceased, however, as the different dynasties passed, large quantities of these statuettes were made for the deceased, made up of men and women, including specialists in different activities, who were sometimes directed by foremen who managed to differentiate themselves by wearing a skirt. Such is the case of Pharaoh Tutankhamun who had three hundred and sixty-five ushabtis at his disposal , one for each day of the year; thirty-six foremen, one for each group of ten workers, and twelve month leaders, one for each month of the year. This made a total of four hundred and thirteen servants in the Hereafter. Such was the fear of carrying out these actions demanded by Osiris that some burials included ushebtis who acted as ""substitutes"" for the main ones. It is logical to think that no pharaoh wanted to carry out this type of task with his hands, so at the required moment he read the legend written on the body of the ushabti and it came to life to respond to the call, replacing him in the work. Afterwards all people, great and simple ones adopted the same view on the afterlife and all tried to have at least one, if not a complete set of shabti, 365 one for every day - as the ancient Egyptians had roughly the same lenght of year that we know today - supplemented by 36 reish-shabti (overseeers ) to keep the troup of shabti working and regulating their work. Ah the ancients were not only magical but also practical thinking humans. " -Provenance: Ex. Collection Mr. H.K. Amsterdam Note: Property from Very Important Dutch Private Collection! The collection consists of ca. 14 Chinese pottery objects (including horses form the Six dynasties to Tang dynasty, attendants, musicians, guards of honor, camels), ca. 25 Pre-Columbian, and 10 Egyptian objects, all objects will be auctioned in the coming Catawiki auctions. - from the H. K. collections. Mr. H. K. was one of the Dutch foremost art collectors, the range of whose interests was extraordinary. These included Chinese, Egyptian, Pre-Columbian, and South-East Asian art. Mr. K. was chairman of the ABU from 1999 to 2014. In addition, K. was chairman of Youth Care Netherlands, member of the Social-Economic Council (SER), columnist for “Het Financieele Dagblad”, active at VNO-NCW, advisor to the presidium of the House of Representatives, he held many supervisory positions and was active at FNV. He was consistently one of the 200 most influential people in the Netherlands, according to de Volkskrant! Note: It will be professionally packed and safely sent in a wooden crate within 3 working days by FedEx. Shipped with Insurance! - A Certificate of Authenticity from Becker Antiques (specialist in Asian art since 1969, Amsterdam) will accompany the item. Our Guarantee: The above item is guaranteed to be of the time period and condition as described, has been purchased legally and is legal to buy and sell under all international laws to cultural patrimony. - All items legal to buy/sell under The Netherlands covering cultural patrimony, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. Condition: Good condition. Original pigment. Wear consistent with the age, some loss of color, missing parts. Important information. The seller guarantees that he is entitled to ship this lot. It will be professionally packed and safely sent by FedEx. Buyers are responsible for import regulation and restrictions of their own country