Egypt, Late Period, ca. 750 to 525 BCE. This is a pair of ushabti dolls with a green-glaze faience coating. Both have their arms crossed over their chests and are holding hoes (for a clearer photo of a shabti holding hoes in the similar manner, see the Faience shabti of Sety I on the British Museum website). Ushabti (or shabti) dolls are figures shaped like adult male or female mummies wearing the traditional ancient Egyptian headdresses. The ancient Egyptians believed that after they died, their spirits would have to work in the "Field of Reeds" owned by the god of the underworld, Osiris. This meant doing agricultural labor -- and it was required by all members of society, from workers to pharaohs. The more wealthy and nobility in Egyptian society were able to have ushabtis made of faience; blue faience was meant to reflect the color of the river Nile both on earth and in the afterlife. They were usually decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions that gave the ushabti their power, telling Osiris that they were to do work for him. Both are custom mounted. Size: 5.8" H (14.7 cm)

Provenance: Ex NY collection

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#115580

Abraded surface; any hieroglyphs originally present are now missing.