Egypt, Late Period, probably 26th (Saite) Dynasty, ca. 664 to 525 BCE. A very fine faience ushabti (shabti), pale green, with extensive hieroglyphs. Ushabti were placed in tombs as grave goods, created to do manual labor for the deceased in the afterlife. As a result, they are frequently depicted with arms crossed, holding hoes and baskets. Towards the end of the Pharaonic period, they had become so necessary and elaborate that some tombs contained one worker for every day of the year and thirty-six overseers, each responsible for ten laborers. Workers like this one are from that period of enormous proliferation, and are some of our best surviving insights into ancient Egyptian funerary practices. Many, like this one, are inscribed with pleas to Osiris. Size: 1.4" W x 5.5" H (3.6 cm x 14 cm)

Compare a very similar example from the Petrie Museum, University College London, the Ushabti of Horuza, 26th Dynasty.

Provenance: Ex - Private CA collection, acquired at Jean & Hugue Ramie, Cannes before 1990

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#116563

Intact, excellent condition