Head and chest of a shabti figure

Head and chest of a shabti figure

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carved in stone, this shabti dates from the Middle Kingdom, toward the end of the period when such objects first appear. Found most often in tombs as part of the burial equipment, these figures were meant to serve as substitutes for the deceased. Typically represented as a wrapped mummy, shabtis can be uninscribed, or can be carved or painted with the name and titles of the owner, in some cases with a prayer asking for offerings. Later examples can bear a spell (usually from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead) promising that the figure will perform labor in the afterlife, and many are equipped with agricultural tools. For a complete, excavated example of a stone funerary figure of this era, see the granodiorite shabti of Nebankh, 08.200.17.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head and chest of a shabti figureHead and chest of a shabti figureHead and chest of a shabti figureHead and chest of a shabti figureHead and chest of a shabti figure

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.