Overseer Shabti

An ‘overseer’ shabti wearing the projecting triangular apron of everyday life. The customary short sleeved tunic is not evident in the modelling. The head wears a bipartite or duplex wig with striations added in black. A seshed headband is worn on the wig, this being left as a band that is the underlying blue of the glaze, with the edges outlined in black. The left arm is folded above the waist, and the hand holds a whip added in black. The right arm hangs down by the side of the body. The face is poorly defined, and has the eyes with brows added in black although only the right eye and brow are really obvious. The legs and feet are modelled. The front of the apron has a vertical column of inscription added in black, but the name of the owner is difficult to read with any degree of certainty. One of the previous owners, Amy Urlin, assisted W. M. F. Petrie on his excavation of the cemetery at Abydos in 1901 and this shabti may have been aquired at this time. CONDITION NOTE 1998: Very worn, pitted, surface dirt, wax on base.