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Shawabty of King Piankhy (Piye)
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Piankhy (Piye)
743–712 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), el-Kurru, Pyramid 17, debris in stair and chamber
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Overall: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.13000
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionThis is a shawabty of King Piankhy (Piye). The male figure wears a tripartite wig, an uraeus and has a long beard. There is one unframed column of painted text which includes the cartouche on the front of the figure. This mummiform shape does not have a back pillar or base. No hands or implements are depicted. The object is half molded with a flat dressed back. It is missing from waist down.
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 ten
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 ten
ProvenanceFrom Nubia (Sudan), el-Kurru, Pyramid 17 (tomb of King Piankhy (Piye)), debris in stair and chamber. 1919: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of the Sudan.
Accession date: August 1, 2007
Accession date: August 1, 2007