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Perhaps no single object epitomizes the
spirit of Ancient Egypt better than the
ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy,
the ushabti evokes the magical side of
the Egyptian belief in the afterlife,
while the two hoes clutched in the hands
recall the rural, agrarian culture of
the land. The word ushabti (supplanting
the older term shawabti) literally means
“the answerer.” The function of these
little figures is described in Chapter
VI of the Book of the Dead: “O this
Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called
upon to do hard labor in the hereafter,
say thou: I am here.” The ushabti was
expected to answer the call to work in
place of the deceased, and this passage
was frequently inscribed on the figures
themselves. Originally, a single
ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but
by the New Kingdom, the statues had come
to be regarded as servants and slaves
for the deceased rather than as a
substitute, and many might be found
buried together, along with an overseer
figure. In the course of Egyptian
history, ushabti were created from a
variety of material, including wood,
stone, metal, and faience.
This gorgeous ushabti, carved from
either serpentine or steatite, belonged
to the tomb furnishings of a senior
general of Ramses II named Kasa. A
handful of ushabtis bearing his full
title, made of gray stone, pink
sandstone, and white or green faience,
are well known to scholars. This
ushabti stands on a low pedestal,
holding hoes and a seed-sack. He wears
a long finely wrapped and pleated kilt
with a prominent overfold and beaded
upper border on the back. He is well
adorned with beaded bracelets, a broad
collar, and a striated tripartite wig
that crowns his head. His face has been
carefully rendered with outlined lips, a
slightly aquiline nose, and long
contoured eyebrows featuring the
cosmetic lines so characteristic of
Ancient Egypt. A column inscription in
the front on the overfold can be
translated as, ``Osiris Kasa, blessed in
peace.' The five lines of inscription
carved in sunk relief on the sides and
back of the kilt reads: ``Let the Osiris
Kasa be enlightened, he says...,'
followed by chapter 6 of the Book of the
Dead (version IV C). Kasa, an ancient
general who fought under Ramses the
Great, is best known today not for his
military accomplishments, but for the
remarkable works of art that decorated
his monumental tomb, including this
stunning ushabti
Published:
Geschenk des Nils: Aegyptische
Kunstwerke aus Schweizer Besitz,
Hermann Schlögl, ed., catalogue of the
exhibition at the Archäologische
Sammlung der Universität Bern,
Historiches Museum, Bern, Kunstmuseum,
Lucerne, and Musée d'Art et d'Histoire,
Geneva, Zurich, 1978, no. 192, p. 61,
illus.
Vom Euphrat zum Nil. Kunst aus dem
alten Ägypten und Vorderasien,
catalogue of the exhibition held at the
Kunstmuseum des Kantons Thurgau, Bern,
1985, no. 10, pp. 26-27, illus.
Hermann A. Schlögl and Andreas Brodbeck,
Ägyptische Totenfiguren aus
öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen der
Schweiz, Göttingen, 1990, no. 34,
pp. 91-92, illus.
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