Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 5.25" (13.3cm) high x 1.5" (3.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 5.25" (13.3cm) high x 1.5" (3.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of the Egyptian belief in an afterlife, while the two hoes clutched in the hands recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means “the answerer.” The function of these little figures is described in Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead: “O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here.” The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but by the New Kingdom, the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased rather than as a substitute, and many might be found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal, and faience. The stunning blue hue of this faience ushabti imitates the color of lapis lazuli, one of the most rare and prized minerals in the ancient world. The blue is also evocative of the life forces of the sky and the sea. To look upon an ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. - (PF.5925)   « Less

Origin: Sakhara, Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 4.75" (12.1cm) high x 1.5" (3.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium:  More »

Origin: Sakhara, Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 4.75" (12.1cm) high x 1.5" (3.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of Egyptian belief in an afterlife. The two hoes clutched in the hands and the basket carried on the back recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means "the answerer." The function of these little figures is described in Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead: "O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here." The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in any given tomb. But by the New Kingdom the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased, rather than as a substitute. Many have been found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the XXVIth Dynasty (Saite period), a green faience, the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime, was particularly popular. To look upon an ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. - (PF.1151)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 4.25" (10.8cm) high x 1.5" (3.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Faience The 26th Dynasty,  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 4.25" (10.8cm) high x 1.5" (3.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Faience The 26th Dynasty, also known as the Saite Period, is traditionally placed by scholars at the end of the Third Intermediate Period or at the beginning of the Late Dynastic Period. In either case, the Saite Period rose from the ashes of a decentralized Egyptian state that had been ravaged by foreign occupation. Supported by the assistance of a powerful family centered in the Delta town of Sais, the Assyrians finally drove the Nubians out of Egypt. At the close of this campaign, Ashurbanipal’s kingdom was at the height of its power; however, due to civil strife back east, he was forced to withdraw his forces from Egypt. Psamtik I, a member of the family from Sais, seized this opportunity to assert his authority over the entire Nile Valley and found his own dynasty, the 26th of Egyptian history. Known as the Saite Period due to the importance of the capital city Sais, the 26th Dynasty, like many before it, sought to emulate the artistic styles of past pharaohs in order to bolster their own claims to power and legitimize their authority. Faience, which dates back to predynastic times, at least 5,000 years, is a glasslike non-clay substance made of materials common to Egypt: ground quartz, crushed quartz pebbles, flint, a soluble salt-like baking soda, lime and ground copper, which provided the characteristic color. The dried objects went into kilns looking pale and colorless but emerged a sparkling "Egyptian blue." Called tjehnet by the Ancient Egyptians, meaning that which is brilliant or scintillating, faience was thought to be filled with the undying light of the sun, moon and stars and was symbolic of rebirth. Ancient Egyptians believed the small blue-green objects helped prepare them for eternity in the afterlife.   « Less

Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of the Egyptian  More »

Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of the Egyptian belief in an afterlife, while the pick and hoes clutched in the hands, as well as the seed bag slung over his shoulder, recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means “the answerer.” The function of these little figures is described in Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead: “O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here.” The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but by the New Kingdom, the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased rather than as a substitute, and many might be found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal, and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the 26th Dynasty, also known as the Saite Period (the time when this work was produced), a green faience, the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime, was particularly popular. Along the body of this ushabti rows of hieroglyphic text have been inscribed. Such inscriptions generally offer prayers from the deceased and reveal the ushabti’s readiness to perform labor. To look upon this ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. - (PF.5968)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 9.75" (24.8cm) high Collection: Egyptian Style: Ushabti Medium: Faience Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 9.75" (24.8cm) high Collection: Egyptian Style: Ushabti Medium: Faience Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of the Egyptian belief in an afterlife, while the pick and hoes clutched in the hands, as well as the seed bag slung over his shoulder, recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means “the answerer.” The function of these figures is described in Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead: “O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here.” The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but by the New Kingdom, the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased rather than as a substitute, and many might be found buried together, along with a larger overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal, and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the 26th Dynasty, also known as the Saite Period (the time when this work was produced), a green faience, the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime, was particularly popular. Along the body of this ushabti is inscribed ten rows of hieroglyphic text. Such inscriptions generally offer prayers from the deceased and reveal the ushabti’s readiness to perform labor. To look upon this ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself - (X.0353a)   « Less

Origin: Sinai- Egypt Circa: 665 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 5.5" (14.0cm) high Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Ushabtis Medium: Faience Condition: Extra Fine Perhaps no  More »

Origin: Sinai- Egypt Circa: 665 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 5.5" (14.0cm) high Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Ushabtis Medium: Faience Condition: Extra Fine Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of Egyptian belief in an afterlife, while the two hoes clutched in the hands and the basket carried on the back recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means "the answer". The function of these little figures is described in Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead: "O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here." The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in any given tomb, but by the New Kingdom the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased rather than a substitute, and many might be found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the XXVIth Dynasty (Saite period), a green faience the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime was particularly popular. To look upon an ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. - (sp.009)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 8.25" (21.0cm) high x 2.5" (6.4cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: 26th Dynasty Medium:  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 8.25" (21.0cm) high x 2.5" (6.4cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Faience Condition: Extra Fine This striking ushabti dates to the 26th dynasty, which is notable for being the last indigenous dynasty prior to the conquest by Persia in 525-4 BC. The period was characterised by strife as the Assyrians, Babylonians and the Lydians – and even Greece and Caria – became involved in a power struggle to control Egypt, to reunify her and to resist imperial advances. Reunification was achieved under Psammetichus I, although Egyptian imperial power was not what it had been. Once Nineveh fell in 612 BC, Egypt’s attempts to reassert her dominion in the Middle East failed at the hands of the Persian king Cambyses, who took the last king – Psammetichus III – to Susa in irons. Despite these upheavals, however, Egyptian religion and funerary practice did not significantly alter. The pomp and ceremony that characterised Old Kingdom interments had been perpetuated, burying representations of assistants, animals and all the other accoutrements one might need for the hereafter with the deceased. Ushabtis are perhaps the best-known of these grave goods. Ushabti can be translated as “the answerer,” a term directly related to its function in the afterlife. Initially, only one ushabti was interred with the deceased, but by the New Kingdom, it became the custom to inter hundreds of ushabti to act as slaves, much as their human counterparts did in the real world. The number of figures, and the materials from which they were made, depended on the individual's wealth.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience The Ushabtis were funerary  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience The Ushabtis were funerary figurines placed in tombs among the grave goods and were intended to act as substitutes for the deceased, should he be called upon to do the manual labor in the afterlife. They were used from the Middle Kingdom (around 1900 BC) until the end of the Ptolemaic Period, nearly 2000 years later. The ushabtis were believed to magically animate after the dead had been judged, and work for the dead person as a substitute labourer in the field of Osiris. Ushabti inscriptions often contain the 6th chapter of the Book of the Dead, translated as: “Illumine the Osiris NN, whose word is truth. Hail, Shabti Figure! If the Osiris Ani be decreed to do any of the work which is to be done in Khert-Neter, let everything which standeth in the way be removed from him-wether it to be plough the fields, or to fill the channels woth water, or to carry sand from the East to the West. The Shabti figure replieth: I will do it, verily I am here when thou callest”. Perhaps no single object can epitomize the spirit of ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. This ushabti is shaped like a divine mummy. The hands hold two hoes, and the basket carried on the back recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. - (LK.007)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 5.9" (15.0cm) high Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience There is no better object to  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 5.9" (15.0cm) high Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience There is no better object to epitomize the spirit of Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti, made in the form of a mummy. The Ushabtis were funerary figurines placed in tombs among the grave goods and were intended to act as substitutes for the deceased, should he be called upon to do the manual labor in the afterlife. They were used from the Middle Kingdom (around 1900 BC) until the end of the Ptolemaic Period, nearly 2000 years later. The ushabtis were believed to magically animate after the dead had been judged, and work for the dead person as a substitute labourer in the field of Osiris. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but by the New Kingdom, the statues had come to be regarded as servants for the deceased rather than as a subsitute. Its legs are a single unit, the arms vertical with the hands exposed appearing as if crossed. The effect is as if the fgure is tightly wrapped in cloth, holding a hoe in each hand and a basket carried on the back. The basket recalls the rural, agrarian culture of the ushabtis. - (LK.008)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 4" (10.2cm) high x 1.1" (2.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 4" (10.2cm) high x 1.1" (2.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of Egyptian belief in an afterlife. The two hoes clutched in the hands and the basket carried on the back recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means "the answerer." The function of these little figures is described in Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead: "O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here." The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in any given tomb. But by the New Kingdom the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased, rather than as a substitute. Many have been found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the XXVIth Dynasty (Saite period), a green faience, the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime, was particularly popular. To look upon an ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. - (OF.106)   « Less