NEW KINGDOM, 19TH DYNASTY, 1295-1186 B.C.

Details

AN EGYPTIAN PAINTED LIMESTONE SHABTI OF THE DRAFTSMAN PAY
NEW KINGDOM, 19TH DYNASTY, 1295-1186 B.C.
10 ¾ in. (27.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Hugh Stanley Russell (1924-2000), Malvern, Worcestershire, U.K., acquired by 1975; thence by descent.
Collection of Hugh Stanley Russell; Antiquities, Bonhams, London, 20 October 2005, lot 10.
with Galerie Günter Puhze, Freiburg, acquired from the above.
Private Collection, Germany, acquired from the above 2005; thence by descent to the current owner.

Literature

J. Malek, "A Shawabti of the Draughtsman Pay of Deir El-Medina," Revue d'Égyptologie, vol. 31, 1979, pp. 153-156.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

hsolomon@christies.com +1 212 636 2256

Lot Essay

The body of the shabti is painted with eight lines of hieroglyphic text from Chapter 6 of The Book of the Dead, reading: "Instructions of the Osiris, the Outline Draftsman of Amun in the Place of Truth, Pay, Justified. He says: O ye (lit “these”) Shawabty, if the Osiris, the Outline Draftsman in the Place of Truth Pay, Justified, is counted or is reckoned in any work which is done in the Necropolis, since an obstacle is implanted there, as a man to his duty, in order to cultivate the fields, in order to irrigate the riverbanks, in order to convey sand of the East to the West, if [the Osiris (etc.) Pay, Justified,] is counted..."

More from Antiquities

View All