Shabti

Mummiform shabti wearing a finely carved composite duplex or bipartite wig, with the upper part being striated with wavy locks, and the front lappets with echeloned curls. The lower ends of the front and back of the wig have a short fringe. The arms are crossed left over right on the chest. Implements are not carried in the hands, and there is no basket on the back, but, these details may have been added in paint that has now worn away. Although the nose and mouth are a little rubbed it is evident that the face was well carved. The overall shape of the face is rounded with full cheeks. The eyes and brows were originally inlaid with glass or coloured paste of which only traces in the eyes remain. There is a minute fleck of gold leaf on the right check of the shabti, perhaps suggesting the face was once gilded with gold leaf. Ears protrude below the wig, and indentations suggest that the lobes are pierced. The lower part of the figure has been heavily restored. There are faint traces of an inscription comprising of four horizontal lines although the hieroglyphs are very indistinct. This shabti would have undoubtedly been of a high artistic quality when it was made, and with the inlays for the eyes and brows being present, it would have looked quite spectacular. It reflects the workmanship that is typical of the post–Amarna period in the 18th Dynasty.