A Large and Important Egyptian Alabaster Shabti, late 18th - 19th Dynasty, ca. 1320–1200 BCE

Shabtis carved from alabaster are typically found only in the later part of the Eighteenth Dynasty and into the Nineteenth Dynasty, which makes surviving examples comparatively rare. This exceptional example is depicted in the traditional mummiform stance, with arms neatly folded, wearing a smooth tripartite wig and a quietly composed expression. The face is modeled with subtle, introspective features, carefully rendered with gently arched brows, almond-shaped eyes, and a straight, composed mouth, creating an impression of timeless refinement. The absence of agricultural implements, seed bags, or inscriptions aligns it with the late 18th to early Ramesside era, a time when shabtis were often less detailed.

Despite its elegant simplicity, this piece still effectively conveys its purpose. Figures such as this were meant to serve as substitute laborers for the deceased in the afterlife. Even without any tools, the pose and wig distinctly identify it as a funerary servant. The use of alabaster, a material associated with purity, offerings, and elite burial items, highlights the owner's status and suggests that it was commissioned for an individual of means.

The inscriptions on the nineteenth-century marble base help trace its journey. Lettered in ink on the back of the foot is “XIX Dyn. Gurob” a reference to Flinders Petrie's excavation at Gurob and “530.” On the underside of the stand appear “1575,” “433,” and a penciled “2” along with “Price Sale.” “1575” corresponds to Hilton Price’s original inventory number; “2” indicates that the lot contained two shabtys in the 1911 sale; and “433” is the accession number assigned by the Endowment for Biblical Research during its custodianship of the object.

Note: This is an exceptional shabti in both its material and its presence. The superb stone, confident carving, and quiet expressiveness, combined with its excavated pedigree and early publication record, place it among the most desirable examples from the transitional period between the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the start of the Ramesside age.

Comparable alabaster examples are published in Reeves (1984: IV, pl. 34a–b) and in Schneider (1977, vol. III: pl. 29, 3.2.4.10–11) for Dynasty 18, as well as Schneider (1977, vol. III: 3.2.1.20, 3.2.1.26, 3.2.1.36) for early Dynasty 19.

Published: Frederick George Hilton Price, A Catalogue of the Egyptian Antiquities in the Possession of F.G. Hilton Price (1897), page 163, catalog number 1575.

Hurst Gallery, A Passion for the Past: Historic Collections of Antiquities from Egypt and the Levant (1997), catalogue number 25, pp 28 - 29. 

Medium: Alabaster

Dimensions: Height: 7 7/8 inches (20 cm)

Condition: The shabti is in very good condition for its age, carved from a single piece of translucent alabaster with no modern restoration. There is a minor loss to the tip of the nose, the only notable damage to the facial features, which remain otherwise well preserved. Light, age-related surface wear is visible on the wig and shoulders, consistent with excavated New Kingdom alabaster. A few natural inclusions and shallow surface fissures within the calcite are inherent to the material and not structural. The nineteenth-century marble base, with its original ink and pencil notations, is intact and stable. Overall, an exceptional example. 

Provenance: Excavated by Flinders Petrie at Gurob in the late 19th century; thereafter in the collection of Frederick George Hilton Price, London, and published in his 1897 Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities (p. 163, no. 1575); sold in the Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge dispersal of the Hilton Price collection, 12–17 July 1911, lot 1136, pl. XXV; subsequently acquired by Bodley and later by Smith in 1942; held by the Endowment for Biblical Research, accession no. 433; later with the Hurst Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts; acquired from the Hurst Gallery in 1998 by a private Boston collector.