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There is no better object to epitomize the spirit
of Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti,
made in the form of a mummy. The Ushabtis
were funerary figurines placed in tombs
among the grave goods and were intended to
act as substitutes for the deceased, should he
be called upon to do the manual labor in the
afterlife. They were used from the Middle
Kingdom (around 1900 BC) until the end of
the Ptolemaic Period, nearly 2000 years later.
The ushabtis were believed to magically
animate after the dead had been judged, and
work for the dead person as a substitute
labourer in the field of Osiris. Originally, a
single ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but
by the New Kingdom, the statues had come to
be regarded as servants for the deceased
rather than as a subsitute.
Its legs are a single unit, the arms vertical
with the hands exposed appearing as if
crossed. The effect is as if the fgure is tightly
wrapped in cloth, holding a hoe in each hand
and a basket carried on the back. The basket
recalls the rural, agrarian culture of the
ushabtis.
- (LK.008)
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