Lot 28
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SHABTI FOR HUY
NEW KINGDOM, 19TH DYNASTY, 1292-1190 B.C.
Auction: 26 November 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
faience, of mummiform shape, holding a pick and hoe and with a basket on the back, painted with hieroglyphs on all sides, raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
13.5cm tall
Provenance
Private collection, Cambridge, UK; acquired in the 19th century
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.