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View: Obverse
Shawabty
Egyptian
Late Period, Dynasty 26–30
664–332 B.C.
Findspot: Egypt, Giza, Debris in pit G 7450 X II
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Overall: 10 cm (3 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number29.3037
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionThis shawabty dates to the Late Period. The typology of this period consists of a tripartite wig, long beard, back pillar and base, with the figure holding the pick on the right shoulder and hoe and cord to a small seed bag on the left. The shawabty is crudely shaped and details are indistinct. The hands appear to cross right over left and a deep horizontal line is incised above the hands. There is no seed bag. On the back two incised horizontal lines denote the bottom of the wig. Two incised vertical lines frame the front of the torso. The object was broken in seven pieces and is now mended, except for one break.
An ancient Egyptian shawabty is a funerary figurine that was intended 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.
An ancient Egyptian shawabty is a funerary figurine that was intended 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 Giza, debris in pit G 7450 X II. 1927: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Egypt.