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Shawabty of queen Mernua
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Aspelta
593–568 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Meroe, Beg. S. 85 (tomb of queen Mernua)
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Overall: 13.2 x 4.3 cm (5 3/16 x 1 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.16551
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionThis is a shawabty of Queen Mernua. The female figure wears a tripartite wig. The shawabty is uninscribed. This mummiform shape does not have a back pillar or base. The arms are not crossed, the hands are positioned right above left. The right hand holds a hoe and the left holds a cord and a plain seed bag. It is very worn all around. The wig, face, lappets, and hands are chipped. The front and back of the feet are chipped away. There is a bag of debris.
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), Meroe Beg. S. 85 (tomb of queen Mernua). 1923: 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.