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Shawabty of King Senkamanisken
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Senkamanisken
643–623 B.C.
Object Place: Nubia
Medium/Technique
Serpentinite
Dimensions
Overall: 18.5 x 6.7 x 5.3 cm (7 5/16 x 2 5/8 x 2 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.11827
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionThis is a shawabty belonging to King Senkamanisken. The figure wears the king's nemes headdress with double uraeus and has a plaited beard attached by an incised chin strap. Here the arms are crossed and the hands are directly opposite each other. The figure holds the crook and flail. This mummiform shape does not have a back pillar or base. There are six horizontal lines of incised hieroglyphic text encircling the body. The text is framed and there is a narrow blank area up the center of the back. There is a footmark on the bottom of the foot which is number XX in Dows Dunham’s typology, updated by Joyce Haynes (MFA, 2008), it is the hieroglyphic sign for hair on base. Chips missing from bottom of foot, left side of headdress and face, and top of headdress.
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 3. Excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition and assigned to the MFA by the Sudanese government.