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 Egyptian belief in an afterlife,
while the two hoes clutched in the hands and the
basket carried on the back recall the rural,
agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti
(supplanting the older term shawabti) literally
means "the answer". 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 any given tomb, but by the New
Kingdom the statues had come to be regarded as
servants and slaves for the deceased rather than
a substitute, and many might be found buried
together, along with an overseer figure. In the
course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created
from wood, stone, metal and faience. In the
cultural renaissance of the XXVIth Dynasty (Saite
period), a green faience the color of the Nile and
evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime
was particularly popular. To look upon an
ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery
and magic of Egypt itself.
- (sp.010)
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