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Shawabty of King Senkamanisken
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Senkamanisken
643–623 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Nuri, Pyramid 3, Room B North side
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Overall: 16.5 x 5.4 cm (6 1/2 x 2 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.2655
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 male figure wears a tripartite wig and has a long beard. The arms are crossed and the hands are right over left. The hands are modelled in high raised relief. One hoe is held in the right hand resting on the left shoulder and the left hand holds a cord to a small bag slung over the right shoulder. The implements are in raised relief and finely detailed. This mummiform figure has a wide back pillar and small square base. The back pillar extends over the back of the wig to the top of the back of the head. There are six horizontal registers of incised text encircling the body ending at the back pillar. There is a framed column of vertical text on the back pillar. The text, beard and wig are painted black.
The tomb of king Senkamanisken held two large groups of shawaby figurines, one made of faience, and the other of a dark brown serpentinite. Unlike Egyptian royal shawabty figures, those of Senkamaniske have distinctive, almost portraitike features, including detailed philtrums and bored out nostrils, and the hands of individual artists can be identified.
There is a finely detailed hoe. The bottom of the beard and the nose are chipped.
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 tomb of king Senkamanisken held two large groups of shawaby figurines, one made of faience, and the other of a dark brown serpentinite. Unlike Egyptian royal shawabty figures, those of Senkamaniske have distinctive, almost portraitike features, including detailed philtrums and bored out nostrils, and the hands of individual artists can be identified.
There is a finely detailed hoe. The bottom of the beard and the nose are chipped.
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, pyramid 3 (tomb of Senkamanisken) B North side. 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.