Ancient Egyptian Wood Ushabti. New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC. 23.5 cm height.

Ushabti.

Ancient Egypt, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC.

Wood, stucco and pigments.

23.5 cm height without stand

Condition: Good condition, maintains the original polychrome, only has a slight restoration on the back of the wig.

Provenance: Private collection, United Kingdom. Acquired before the 1970's.

Description:

The Egyptian Afterlife was understood as a mirror of the real world, where good and evil also had their place. The unjust and wicked were punished for eternity, while the righteous enjoyed a comfortable existence travelling with the sun god. Yet the blessed departed were also obliged to fulfil human needs and responsibilities, just as they were in life; having what to eat and drink in the Afterlife was a constant preoccupation. In the Realm of the Dead, where, as members of a hierarchical society ruled by the gods, all the dead - men and women, lords and servants, kings and queens - were obliged to farm in the Fields of Iaru. They had to be ready 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 figurines of themselves made to present when the emissaries of the reigning god Osiris called upon them to perform their duties. Thus, these statuettes, incorporated into the grave goods of the tomb, were images representing both the master and the servant.

They are known as ushebtis, the initial word being sabty or shabty, a derivative of Sawab, the meaning of which corresponds to the Greek word ‘persea’, a sacred tree from which the ancient Egyptians began to make these funerary effigies. It was in the Third Intermediate Period, in the 21st Dynasty, around 1080 BC, that the word wsbty, i.e. ‘ushebty’, came into use. It is from then on that ‘ushebti’ is derived from the verb wsb, ‘to answer’, meaning ‘the one who answers’.

Ushebtis were incorporated into the tombs of ancient Egypt from the First Intermediate Period onwards. Their use increased during the Middle Kingdom, at which time the Egyptians began to write in the Sarcophagus Texts a formula, 472, for the ushebtis to respond to the call: ‘The Justified N., he says, O you shabty, who have been made for N, if N is called to his tasks, or if an unpleasant job were imposed on N as on any man in his work, you will say here am I. If N is called to watch over those who work there, returning over new fields to plough the land, or if N is called to watch over those who work there, returning over new fields to plough the land, or if N is called to watch over those who work there, returning over new fields to plough the land. If N is called to watch over those who work there, returning over the new fields to plough the land, or to transport by boat the sand from the east to the west, you will say here am I. The Justified N’. This formula is then written on the ushebtis, so that in most cases they are engraved. From the New Kingdom onwards, a number of innovations were introduced, and examples with texts began to proliferate, some of which are somewhat more extensive, and which are included 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 offices he held.

Ushebtis were made of wax, especially at the beginning, then wood, and towards the end of the Middle Kingdom stone appeared, and from the New Kingdom terracotta, although the material par excellence was faience. It is known that they were mass-produced thanks to the preservation of moulds and that in some cases the engraved texts were unfinished, as the name of the owner was missing. Their most popular form was that of a mummy, until the introduction, towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, of figures decorated in everyday dress. Many carried tools for working the land, such as a basket, pickaxe or hoe, as a reference to the task they were expected to carry out in the afterlife on behalf of their masters. The iconography, texts, materials, colours and their location in the tomb may suggest other symbolic meanings.

They were sometimes placed inside wooden boxes, which could be ostentatious in decoration or very simple. In the New Empire they came to be placed in miniature sarcophagi.

While in the beginning they were considered as replicas of the deceased, in the New Empire and later, they came to be seen as servants or a kind of slave of the inanimate, for which reason large quantities were made. In the beginning, an ushebti was made for the deceased, however, with the passing of the different dynasties, 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 were differentiated by the use of a skirt. Such is the case of Pharaoh Tutankhamun who had at his disposal three hundred and sixty-five ushebtis, one for each day of the year; thirty-six foremen, one for each crew of ten workers, and twelve heads of month, 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 performing these actions demanded by Osiris that some burials even included ushebtis who acted as ‘substitutes’ for the chiefs.

It is logical to think that no pharaoh wished to perform this type of task with his own hands, so that at the required moment he would read the legend written on the body of the ushebti, and the latter would come to life to answer the call, substituting for him in the work.






Notes:

- The piece includes authenticity certificate.
- The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union) - If the piece is destined outside the European Union a substitution of the export permit should be requested, can take between 1-2 weeks maximum.
- The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.