ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SHABTI OF HORZEHER
EGYPT, LATE PERIOD, C. 664 – 332 B.C.
African & Oceanic Art, Natural History and Ancient Art
Auction: 30 July 2025 from 14:00 BST
£303
Description
faience, depicted in typical fashion, holding the hoe, pick, and seed-sack over his left shoulder, and wearing the tripartite wig and beard, raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
13.8cm tall
Provenance
From an old Aberdeenshire collection, acquired mid 20th century, thence by descent
Footnote
Shabtis, known also as “answerer figures”, were placed in a tomb so the owner's spirit would not have to perform manual labour in the afterlife. They were often inscribed with chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, the shabti text, a spell that compels the shabti to substitute itself if the owner is asked to till the fields, irrigate the land, or transport sand from east to west.