An Egyptian bright blue glazed faience shabti for the High Priest of Amun, Pinudjem II
Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty, circa 990-969 B.C.
17cm high
Footnotes:
Provenance:
Bodo Bleß (1940-2022) collection, Berlin, formed from ca. 1960 onwards.

Pinudjem II was the ruler of Upper Egypt and High Priest of Amun at Thebes from 990-969 B.C. Following the destabilisation which brought the New Kingdom period to a close, Egypt was effectively split into two independent kingdoms, Upper and Lower Egypt, with the former being governed from Thebes by the High Priests of Amun, of whom Pinudjem II was the eighth in succession. Pinudjem II was married to his half-sister Ast-em-Khebit, by whom he had three children, and who was buried alongside Pinudjem II, and also to his niece Nesy-Khonsu, who gave him another four children. Intermarriage of this kind was typical of the period amongst the royal families. For further discussion of the lives of the High Priests of Amun, see A. Dodson, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, London, 2004, pp. 196-209.

For a shabti of his sister-wife Ast-em-Khebit, see lot 289 in this sale.

For an example of one of his shabtis see G. Janes, Shabtis, a private View, Paris, 2002, p.78-79, no. 38.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: *
* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.

The shabti appears to be intact with no visible signs of repair or restoration. On the reverse there is a faint line visible on the glaze running from the back of the wig to the foot. There is an indentation with some encrustation to the back of the wig which occurred during manufacture.
The black details including the text are clear and well preserved.
There is some overall surface wear including, pitting, chipping and scratching with some encrustation. There is a small chip to the glaze of the proper left elbow and the right fist.
The shabti has been glued to a wood base with collection number label: 155.