Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of
Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped
like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the
magical side of the Egyptian belief in an afterlife,
while the two hoes clutched in the hands recall
the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word
ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti)
literally means “the answerer.” The function of
these little figures is described in Chapter VI of
the Book of the Dead: “O this Ushabti! If (the
deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the
hereafter, say thou: I am here.” The ushabti was
expected to answer the call to work in place of
the deceased, and this passage was frequently
inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally,
a single ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but
by the New Kingdom, the statues had come to be
regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased
rather than as a substitute, and many might be
found buried together, along with an overseer
figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti
were created from wood, stone, metal, and
faience. In the cultural renaissance of the XXVI
Dynasty (Saite period), a green faience, the color
of the Nile and evocative of the verdant
landscape in springtime, was particularly
popular. To look upon an ushabti is to come face
to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt
itself.
- (PF.5797)
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