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Shawabty of Akhrasan
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Malowiebamani
463–435 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Nuri, Pyramid 32
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Overall: 14.6 x 3.6 cm (5 3/4 x 1 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.3230
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionThis is a shawabty of Queen Akhrasan. The female figure wears the king's nemes headdress with uraeus and has a long beard. There is one unframed horizontal line of incised text on the front of the figure with a Hetep di nesewt offering formul to Osiris. Below that is the cartouche of the queen. The arms are not crossed, the hands are positioned right above left. One hoe is held in the right hand resting on the right shoulder and the left hand holds a cord to a small bag slung over the left shoulder. This mummiform shape does not have a back pillar or base. The figure is badly worn and only a hoe can be seen on the right. The hands, seed bag and text cannot be seen clearly. There is a chip on the rear of the head.
The ancient Nubians included shawabtys in their tombs only in the Napatan Period, about 750–270 B.C. These funerary figurines are based on Egyptian shawabtys, but differ from them in many features of their iconography. For instance, the known Nubian examples are only from royal tombs. Also, they have unique texts, implements, poses and are known to have the largest number of shawabtys included in one tomb. Their function, it is assumed, was the same as that of the Egyptian shawabty, namely 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.
The ancient Nubians included shawabtys in their tombs only in the Napatan Period, about 750–270 B.C. These funerary figurines are based on Egyptian shawabtys, but differ from them in many features of their iconography. For instance, the known Nubian examples are only from royal tombs. Also, they have unique texts, implements, poses and are known to have the largest number of shawabtys included in one tomb. Their function, it is assumed, was the same as that of the Egyptian shawabty, namely 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 Nuri, Pyramid 32 (tomb of Akhrasan). 1918: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Sudan.