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Shawabty
Egyptian
Findspot: Egypt, Giza, In debris of top of mastaba G 7350
Medium/Technique
Glazed faience
Dimensions
Overall: 3.1 x 4.7 x 1.7 cm (1 1/4 x 1 7/8 x 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number27.1770
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionIt consists of the middle section of shawabty. On the front is shown the beard, wig lappets, crossed hands holding implements. On the back there is a seed bag and a hieroglyphic inscription on the back pillar.
An ancient Egyptian shawabty is a funerary figurine that was intended to magically animate in the Afterlife in order to act as a proxy for the deceased when called upon to tend to field labor or other tasks. This expressed purpose was sometimes written on the shawabty itself in the form of a "Shawabty Spell," of which versions of various lengths are known. Shorter shawabty inscriptions could also just identify the deceased by name and, when applicable, title(s). However, many shawabtys carry no text at all. The ideal number of such figurines to include in a tomb or burial seems to have varied during different time periods.
An ancient Egyptian shawabty is a funerary figurine that was intended to magically animate in the Afterlife in order to act as a proxy for the deceased when called upon to tend to field labor or other tasks. This expressed purpose was sometimes written on the shawabty itself in the form of a "Shawabty Spell," of which versions of various lengths are known. Shorter shawabty inscriptions could also just identify the deceased by name and, when applicable, title(s). However, many shawabtys carry no text at all. The ideal number of such figurines to include in a tomb or burial seems to have varied during different time periods.
ProvenanceFrom Giza, Egypt, in radim of top of mastaba G 7350, 1927 : excavated by the Harvard University–Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Egypt.