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Shawabty of Queen Batahaliye
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of King Harsiotef
397–362 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Nuri, Pyramid 44
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Legs measurement: Overall: 8.3 x 4.4 cm (3 1/4 x 1 3/4 in.)
Torso measurement: Overall: 4 x 5.3 cm (1 9/16 x 2 1/16 in.)
Torso measurement: Overall: 4 x 5.3 cm (1 9/16 x 2 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.16122
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionThis is a shawabty belonging to Queen Batahaliye. The figure wears the king's nemes headdress with uraeus and has a long beard. This mummiform shape does not have a back pillar or base. Here the hands are opposed and the arms are not crossed. One hoe is held in the left hand and rests on the left shoulder, the right hand holds a cord to a small bag that is slung over the left shoulder. The object was broken in twenty pieces and smaller chips and is not mended. Many of the pieces can be fit together.
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, and 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, and 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 Nubia (Sudan), Nuri, Pyramid 44 (tomb of Queen Batahaliye). 1917: 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.