The Shabti Figures

Definition:

Shabti figures were a common feature of most of the large ancient Egyptian burials. They are generally considered as a type of funerary statuettes. They were made either for royal or private persons.

Material:

Shabtis were made of different material such as wood, various kings of stones, bronze (mainly royal shabtis), pottery, wax and faience (commonest material used).

History:

<!--The shabtis made their first appearance in the 11th dynasty and continued to exist throughout the Pharaonic history with the exception of the Hyksos Period

<!--In the Ptolemaic Period they were still in use but on a smaller scale. The last dated shabtis can be attributed to the end of the reign of Cleopatra VII.

<!--During the Roman Period most probably they were not included in the funerary equipment because we did not find any shabtis from this era. However it had been suggested that there are a few examples of roman date dept in the British Museum

The development of the name:

<!--In the 11th and 12th dynasties shabtis were called SAbty or SAwbtyw. This was written with a determinative of wood or a mummy form statuette and wood as well but always with plural strokes. This was most probably derived from the word Sbd which means stick or staff and less likely from the word Sbt which means enforced labor.

<!--In the 2nd Intermediate Period they were called SAwAbty. This name always had a determinative of wood. Some scholars suggested that it was either derived from the word Sbd or sAwAb which means Persea tree-Ishid tree.

<!--From the 21st dynasty onwards, they started to be called wSAbty. This name is derived from the verb wSb which means to answer or respond and this name related to their function.

The development of the shape of the shabtis:

<!--The earliest examples form the 11th dynasty took the shape of an elongated human body of a male or female. Each figure is represented with both arms held at the side and legs together.

<!--At the beginning of the 12th dynasty they took a complete mummy form shape without hands or details except for the face. Then they started to add the details of hands and arms to allow them to perform their duties. These were regarded as the beginning of true shabtis. They were inscribed with the Htp di nisw formula and some magical spells which formed later on Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead.

<!--From the middle of the 18th dynasty they were provided with models of tools of agricultural implements such as a basket, pick, axe, hoe

<!--After the Amarna period shabtis wearing daily life costumes appeared for the first time. This new style was very popular during the 19th dynasty but this new style didn’t survive for along time only for the shabtis representing the overseers.

The development of the function of the shabtis:

<!--At the beginning of their appearance during the 11th and 12th dynasties and because they were taking the facial features of the deceased their function was to act as substitutes for the mummy in case it got destroyed or disappeared.

<!--Towards the end of the 12th dynasty they were regarded as the counterpart of the deceased who takes his place in the corvee of the underworld. In other words, they served as master and servant at the same time.

<!--From the 20th dynasty and during the late period, the shabtis were considered as Hmw or slaves thus their main function became restricted to replace their masters or owners in the manual work required from the deceased in the corvee of the underworld. When he was asked by Osiris to perform certain duties, for example: cultivating the land, irrigating the riverbanks or transporting sand from the east to the west. The shabtis will magically transform in the afterlife by means of a special formula to be recited to them when needed. This formula is what we call chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead and it is normally inscribed on the shabtis themselves.

The development of the number of the shabtis:

<!--At the beginning of their appearance they were very few in number, ranging from one to five

<!--Starting from the New Kingdom the number of the shabtis began to increase. Sometimes we find 365 each one to correspond with each day of the year or 401 they added 36 overseers upon each group of ten or 410.

<!--Common people used to have 401 ushabtis but Tutankhamen had 413 because he added four groups of 12.

<!--n.b. they were made in special workshops under the direction of a priest whose title was chief fashioner of amulets

<!--In the Middle Kingdom and greater part of the New Kingdom shabtis were increased they were usually dedicated to the deceased by his family or friends. When the numbers increased they were bought and sold.

<!--Finally, the names and titles of the owners of the shabtis show that they were made for the privileged ones and for the elite classes of the society throughout the Egyptian history.

<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!--<!-- <!--<!--

<!--We found 413 ushabtis in the tomb of Tutankhamen which were distributed between the annex and the treasury. Only one was recovered from the antechamber. This was probably misplaced from one o the two main collections. They were discovered in 24 boxes ten of them from the treasury and 14 from the annex

<!--They were made of different materials; wood, calcite, various kings of stones and colored faience

<!--As the real shabti figures, even those of the king were merely formal representations and not portraits. In this case the sculptor has produced what appears to be the likeness of the king. There are indications that not all of the shabtis buried in the tomb had originally been made for the king since the facial features of some of them are quite different from those of the boy king.

<!--They are represented with different kings of crowns, headdresses and wigs; nms, xAt headdresses, red crown, white crown, double crown, blue crown xprS, tripartite wig or stepped (curly) wig.

<!--They are also represented holding various objects such as the crook, flail, as well as their special implements. Over 1800 objects were found accompanying the king’s ushabtis made out of copper, faience and wood.

<!--Only 29 of Tutankhamen’s ushabtis were inscribed with a version of chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead or the ushabti formula. The remaining 384 carried just the king’s name and titles.

<!--An inscription found under the feet of five of the more elaborate ushabtis explain that it was made by the royal scribe and general of the army, Minnakht as a gift for his lord the Osiris king to be part of his funerary equipment.

The differences between servants’ statues and shabti figures:

<!--Concerning the functions, shabti figures had defined functions to answer instead of the king while being asker by god Osiris to perform tasks in the fields of Laru while servant statues used to be put in the tomb with the decrease to serve their master in the hereafter by doing daily life duties like slaughtering animals, feeding the geese, etc. Also the ushabti would answer to the commands asked by Osiris in the afterlife while servants were commanded by their master.

<!--Concerning the number; shabti figures have definite number while servants never had a definite number

<!--Concerning the facial features, shabti figures used to have the facial features of the deceased while servants were represented with their own features.

<!--Concerning hieroglyphic inscriptions shabtis used to be represented having inscriptions of the names and titles of the king, the Htp di nisw formula, magical spells of chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. Servant statues had no special inscriptions.