Museum Cast 26th Dynasty EGYPTIAN USHABTI, Sakara 500BC

Base Size: 
2" tall x 3 3/8" wide x 3 3/8" deep

Overall: 9" tall 

Base: 
Etched stone filled resin

The original artifact is currently in a private collection and was reproduced by Echoes In Time under exclusive agreement with the owners. 

Each reproduction is individually handmade and hand finished by artisans in USA with particular attention to authenticity and craftsmanship.

What is a USHABTI?
Want someone to take responsibility for all your mistakes? Want a servant forever? You need a Ushabti, the Egyptian servant for the after-life. The word Ushabti literally means "one who answers", "I come", or, "here I am".  Ushabtis, also called shawabtis or shabtis, first appeared on the ancient Egyptian scene in the Middle Kingdom sometime around 1500 - 1200  B.C.E. Ushabtis are small funerary figurines, usually measuring 10 centimeters or taller, that were buried with a person in order to act as a worker in the afterworld in place of the deceased. 

These highly stylized burial figurines depict a body prepared in the traditional Egyptian way,  wrapped as a mummiform, with its arms crossed holding Egyptian artifacts and a head piece adorning the face. However their  hands were left free, protruding from the bandages, so they could do the work required of them. The Egyptians, being an agrarian society, believed the after-life would be the same, thus they would need servants to plant the fields and build the canals for their lord.  It was also believed they would answer for any inappropriate actions the deceased might have committed while alive.

The more important the person, the more ushabtis they would have. Pharaohs had over a thousand ushabtis which they believed would come to life and serve them when needed.  The figures ranged in size from a few inches to over a foot high.  Most ushabtis were made of "faience", a paste made of ground quartz or sand and quartz

The INSCRIPTION
Ushabti's were often inscribed on the front with hieroglyphs taken from part of the sixth chapter of the Book of the Dead. It was believed that reciting this text would cause the Ushabti to come to life to carry out his obligations.

The inscription on a 26th dynasty (663-525 B.C.E.) ushabti translates: "The shining forth of the Osiris, General Ankh-wah-ib-Ra-sa-Neit. Child of (name unclear). Ushabti, if it is decreed that Osiris is to do work any there is in the afterlife, cast down the obstacles in front of this man. Behold me whenever) you (the Ushabti) are called. Be watchful at any moment to work there. To plough the fields, to water and (carry) the sand to the east, to the west. Behold me whenever called."