Shabti

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Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Photo by Bryan Edwards. For educational purposes only.
Datec. 1070-656 B.C.E.
MediumClay with pigment
DimensionsOverall: 4 1/2 × 1 3/4 in. (11.4 × 4.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of William C. Winslow, Class of 1862
Object number1943.53
Not on view
DescriptionAs conceived by Ancient Egyptians, the afterlife was not much different from life on earth, although one never had to worry about illness or death. A highly valued facet of Egyptian life–and therefore afterlife–was labor. In the afterlife, this meant that everyone was expected to toil in fields of reeds called Aaru for Osiris, the god of death. Although in the predynastic and early dynastic eras, lasting from around 5500 to 2700 BCE, the pharaoh’s slaves and servants were sacrificed following his death so that they could take the pharaoh's place in the Aaru, this cruel practice seems to have been relatively unpopular and consequently faded away. In its place, the Book of the Dead provided a spell for calling forth shabtis–mummiform figurines with painted or carved symbols and features–to take one’s place in the Aaru. The earliest shabtis were unclothed and made of wax or wood; later, they were made of clay and faience and were clothed in garments tailored to specific agricultural tasks (for example, some had satchels to collect the harvest, while others had sickles and hoes). While the poorest of Ancient Egyptians could not afford to be buried with any shabti figures, most tombs contain at least a few shabtis, although usually of poorer quality than those that might be found in a pharaoh's tomb; for those who could afford it, a single tomb could hold over 400 shabti (written Spring 2018 by Christina Naston, Class of 2020). Catalogue card from 1960s: "Clay ushabti. Egyptian, XXI-XXVth Dyns. Gift of: W.C. Winslow '62. Prov.: Egypt? Reddish buff clay; yellow paint. Very irregular. Face and one side apparently moulded; other roughly cut. Lump of clay in front representing hands? Yellow smeared down front (mould appears to be quite fine in contrast to workmanship)."

Additional Details

Provenance by 1943: Hamilton College, by gift of William C. Winslow;
date unknown: William C. Winslow.
Markings None noted.
Signature Not signed.
Inscribed None noted.
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay with pigment
Object number: 1943.11
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay with pigment
Object number: 1943.110
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay with pigment
Object number: 1943.113
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay with pigment
Object number: 1943.120
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti Overseer
Date: c. 1292-653 B.C.E.
Medium: Granular white fabric with pigment
Object number: 1943.125
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay with black pigment
Object number: 1943.109
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay
Object number: 1943.123
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay with pigment
Object number: 1943.54
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay with pigment
Object number: 1943.118
Photography by John Bentham.
Shabti
Date: c. 1069-653 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay
Object number: 1943.117
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay with black pigment
Object number: 1943.108
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Shabti
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Clay
Object number: 1943.121a