Shabti of Sety I

1977.112.11

Information

Mummiform shabti inscribed with the throne name of the pharaoh Sety I, Menmmatra, within a cartouche and with the 6th Chapter of the Book of the Dead. An old label attached below the rear lappet of the wig reads, “Ra-men-ma. 1887. Thebes”. The shabti wears a simply carved tripartite wig. Face is poorly worked with eyes barely existent. Nose rubbed off. Ears simply defined. Arms are clearly crossed right over left. Only scant traces of a black resinous varnish remain; hieroglyphs are filled with the varnish.Six lines of reasonably distinct hieroglyphs read, “The illuminated one, the Osiris, the King, Men–Maat–Re,justified, he speaks: O, shabtis, if one reckons, ? Seti, Beloved (of) Ptah, justified, to do all the works that are to be done there in the realm of the dead – to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the river banks, to transport by boat the sand of the east to the west – now indeed, obstacles are implanted there, as for a man to work, ‘here I am’ at any time. Transliteration of inscription: sHD Wsir nsw.t Mn-MAa.t-Ra mAa-xrw Dd.f i SAb.ty ip.t[n] ir Hsb.tw ? Sty-mr.y-(n)-PtH mAa-xrw r ir.t kA.t nb(.t) irr[.t i]m (m) Xr.t-nTr srwD sx.t smH.yt wDb.w r Xn.t Say (r) iAb.tt r imn.tt is (Hw) sDb.w im s r Xr.wt.f iry m.k kA(.t) m nw nb Purchased by W. Talbot Ready on 13 July 1903; Purchased by F. C. Danson 30 October 1903.