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Lot Essay
Dressed in the elaborate “clothes of the living,” namely, an echeloned wig, pleated shirt and flounced kilt associated with elite men from the end of the 18th Dynasty into the 19th, this finely carved limestone shabti most likely represents an overseer, responsible for directing the other shabtis under his command. The development of the shabti from simple forms reflecting the mummy of the deceased into elaborate portraits reflecting the appearance of the deceased during life is also mirrored in the sculpted lids of stone sarcophagi of the 19th Dynasty (see, for example, the sarcophagus of Iniuya in the Louvre, p. 82 in C. Ziegler, et al., Les Antiquités égyptiennes: Guide du visiteur, vol. 1).
H. Schneider (Shabtis, pp. 162-164) has suggested that shabtis in the “clothes of the living” reflect the desire of the individual to be “on earth,” implying that the images reflect the unification of Re and Osiris. However, shabtis are not exclusively found in funerary contexts, but also occur as extra-sepulchral offerings, implying that their function extends beyond that of mere servants of the deceased. Most likely, such objects enabled the owner to participate in ritual in much the same ways that Egyptians believed could occur through other types of images, such as statues and stelae. For a recent discussion on the function of shabtis, including those wearing “clothes of the living,” see L. Weiss, The Walking Dead at Saqqara: Strategies of Social and Religious Interaction in Practice, pp. 137-154.
On this example, an area for the addition of the name of the owner is provided on the front of the kilt, in the form of a short vertical column of incised text that only preserves the opening designation of “The Osiris…,” followed at the end by “true of voice,” indicating the justification of the deceased. In all likelihood, this example was provided with an added name in paint that is now lost, along with most other traces of the polychrome decoration, which once enlivened this image and helped it to become effective for the owner.
H. Schneider (Shabtis, pp. 162-164) has suggested that shabtis in the “clothes of the living” reflect the desire of the individual to be “on earth,” implying that the images reflect the unification of Re and Osiris. However, shabtis are not exclusively found in funerary contexts, but also occur as extra-sepulchral offerings, implying that their function extends beyond that of mere servants of the deceased. Most likely, such objects enabled the owner to participate in ritual in much the same ways that Egyptians believed could occur through other types of images, such as statues and stelae. For a recent discussion on the function of shabtis, including those wearing “clothes of the living,” see L. Weiss, The Walking Dead at Saqqara: Strategies of Social and Religious Interaction in Practice, pp. 137-154.
On this example, an area for the addition of the name of the owner is provided on the front of the kilt, in the form of a short vertical column of incised text that only preserves the opening designation of “The Osiris…,” followed at the end by “true of voice,” indicating the justification of the deceased. In all likelihood, this example was provided with an added name in paint that is now lost, along with most other traces of the polychrome decoration, which once enlivened this image and helped it to become effective for the owner.