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Shawabty of Queen Tabiry
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Piankhy (Piye)
743–712 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), el-Kurru, Ku. 53
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Head: 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.)
Lower portion overall: 5 cm (1 15/16 in.)
Lower portion overall: 5 cm (1 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.13742
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionThis is a shawabty belonging to Queen Tabiry, wife of King Piankhy (Piye). This foreman shawabty figure has a long beard and wears a tripartite wig and a short pleated kilt. He holds a whip in his right hand. There is no back pillar but there is a base. This object consists of 4 large fragments, three of which join to form the kilt and legs. The fourth fragment is the head and torso. There are also several crumb fragments.
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 de
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 de
ProvenanceFrom Nubia (Sudan), el-Kurru, Ku. 53 (tomb of Queen Tabiry). 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.