Shabtis

Even in the afterlife the deceased had work to do. To avoid these chores, shabtis, small, model servants, were placed in the tombs. The earliest shabtis come from the Middle Kingdom. These figures were mummiform in shape, made of wood or wax, and often placed in model wooden coffins. The more elaborate New Kingdom shabtis were made of wood, metal, stone, or faience. The figures were often inscribed with a magical text that ensured their performance. Since much of the required labor was in the fields, most shabtis are depicted carrying hoes, mattocks, and baskets. At first only one shabti was placed in each tomb. By the New Kingdom, though, tombs included large work gangs of shabtis with their own overseers. Though their quality varied over time, shabtis were used to the end of the Dynastic period.

Shabtis	Shabtis	Shabtis	Shabtis	Shabtis	Shabtis	Shabtis

 

Sources:

Adams, Barbara. Egyptian Mummies. Aylesbury: Shire Publications, Ltd., 1984.

Brewer, Douglas, and Emily Teeter. Egypt and the Egyptians. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Spencer, A.J. Death in Ancient Egypt. New York: Penguin Books, 1982.

Taylor, John H. Egyptian Coffins. Aylesbury: Shire Publications, Ltd., 1989.

 

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