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Shawabty of Queen Seshena
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Queen Seshena
653–623 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Meroe, Beg. S. 132
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Overall: 8.1 x 2.8 cm (3 3/16 x 1 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.16592
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Shawabties and shawabty boxes
DescriptionThis is a shawabty belonging to queen Seshena. The female figure wears a tripartite wig. There is one framed column of incised text on the front of the figure and another on the back. The arms are not crossed, the hands are positioned left above right. One hoe is held in the right hand resting on the right shoulder and the left hand holds a cord to a small rounded bag depicted in raised relief slung over the left shoulder. The object was broken in 2 pieces and is not mended. There is a chip on the left elbow. There is heavy red soil encrustation on the lower legs. The face is in fairly good condition.
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. 132 (tomb of Queen Seshena). 1921: 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.