An Egyptian Green Glazed Shabti for the scribe Hapmen, 26th Dynasty, ca. 664 - 525 BCE

A fine blue-green glazed composition ushabti shown mummiform and standing on a low trapezoidal base. The figure wears a well-modeled tripartite wig, with the arms crossed over the chest and the hands and head emerging from the tightly wrapped body. The facial features are sharply defined in high relief, including a long divine beard that extends from the chin.

In keeping with its role as a worker in the afterlife, the figure holds agricultural implements in both hands; a twisted rope held in the right hand that trails over the shoulder and connects to a woven basket at the back. Nine horizontal lines of incised hieroglyphs extend across the front of the body and legs and continue around to either side of the back pillar. The inscription opens by identifying the owner as the scribe Hapmen and then gives the standard wording of Spell 6 of the Book of the Dead, in which the deceased addresses the shabti and commands it to answer in his place should he be called upon to perform agricultural tasks in the afterlife. 

Medium: Faience

Dimensions: Height: 6 inches (15.1 cm)

Condition:  Rejoined at the lower legs, now stable, otherwise intact.

Provenance: Private Indianna collection, acquired from Ancient World Arts Ltd., in 1987 and accompanied by a copy of the Certificate of Authenticity issued by Herbert I. Siegel dating to 1987.