Egypt, New Kingdom, Nineteenth Dynasty, ca. 1213 to 1203 BCE. A mummiform votive ushabti (shabti), made from faience with deep seafoam blue and green blue glaze and details in black. The figure is painted to be wearing a short wig, adorned with a broad usekh collar. It holds agricultural implements in each hand and a seed sack over left shoulder. A column of hieroglyphic inscriptions on the front names “Merneptah” as the owner. Merneptah was the fourth pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty who ruled Egypt for ten years, ascending to the throne when he was in his sixties. His throne name means "The Soul of Ra, Beloved of the Gods." When he died as an old man, he was originally buried in the Valley of Kings, but his body was found in a mummy cache with eighteen others in the tomb of Amenhotep II, indicating that despite the best intentions, his tomb was disturbed in antiquity and the ushabti placed to aid him in the afterlife were scattered. Comes with custom stand. Size: 1.5" W x 5" H (3.8 cm x 12.7 cm); height on stand: 5.8" (14.7 cm)

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 wealthier 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. This example is said to have come from the Memphis Serapeum.

Provenance: ex-Galerie Günter Puhze GmbH; Ex Andre Lagneau, Switzerland; Ex Florent Dalcq, Belgium acquired from Service Des Antiquities (Cairo Museum, Egyptian Museum) in 1923

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#124484

Intact, with incredible remaining detail.