Brought to you by Keith Amery - Archeological Finds & Remains Expert
Today’s technology makes buying, selling and researching archeological finds easier than ever before and at Catawiki you can discover new treasures from the past every week. Today our Archeological Finds & Remains Expert Keith Amery shares the story behind just one of the thousands of fascinating objects we regularly have in auction: ushabti figures. An ushabti is a small figurine that would be buried with the dead in ancient Egypt. The ushabti figurine would become their servant when they entered the afterlife. Read on to discover their fascinating story.
The Emergence of the Servants of the Dead
The ushabti figurine is perhaps the most distinctive artefact symbolising ancient Egyptian culture. It is certainly the most popular amongst collectors. There are two basic types of these tomb figures. The most common being the mummiform figure with the hieroglyphic inscription of Chapter 6 from the Egyptian Book of the Dead as well as the names and titles of the deceased.
In the Old Kingdom, or Pyramid Age, only the highest elite had wooden or stone tomb figures representing the deceased, his family and most importantly, his servants. Safe in the knowledge that an army of servants would do the hard work for him and his family, the tomb’s owner could enjoy eternity as a man of leisure.
In the Middle Kingdom, private wealth and status became more widespread. Burials became simpler, without the finely decorated reliefs of the Old Kingdom that surrounded the tomb’s owner with depictions of his estates and servants. The nobility were buried in undecorated burial chambers. Instead, the wooden tomb models of male and female servants, estates, and boats dominated Egyptian burial practice. It was from this that the shabti, or mummiform tomb figure required to do the work of the deceased in the afterlife, was developed.
Answering the Call
These figures were originally called Shawabtis, based on the use of persea or ‘shawab’ wood in their creation. Wealthy burials were furnished with 365 workers in the form of a mummy and 36 overseer figures, dressed as in everyday attire, more importantly wielding the whip of authority.
“When x is called to carry sand from the west to the east, and east to west, here I am you shall say,” reads the chapter from the Book of the Dead, Egypt’s papyrus guide to the underworld, ruled over by the god Osiris. Depicted as a mummiform figure himself, this led to the tomb figures being called ushabtis, or ‘answerers’. The deceased himself (or herself) becomes Osiris after passing the various trials of the Egyptian underworld.
Ushabti Collecting Today
Ushabtis are popular with collectors for their range of materials, differing styles and not least because of the genealogical and social information provided in their titles.
The picture above displays the ushabti of Padiusir, who’s name literally translates as ‘A gift given by Osiris’. His mother’s name is given as Irbinat and he is identified as a priest of the goddess Smentet. He lived during the era when the Persians, then the Greeks occupied Egypt and Herodotus reported that the Egyptian army was defeated by the Persian’s driving cats before them. As the Egyptian’s believed cats to be sacred, the army would not risk harming a sacred animal. Discover here for how much ushabti of Padiusir was sold on Catawiki.
So much can be learned and understood about the structure of ancient Egyptian society from one little statuette moulded from Egyptian faience. You can find ushabtis such as this and other treasures at Catawiki’s Ancient Egyptian Archaeological Finds auction. You can also register here to start selling treasures of your own at Catawiki’s weekly auctions.