Description: Crudely carved mummiform shabti originally with black resin covering. Arms crossed right over left, no indication of tools. Hair arranged in tripartite lappet style. Small marks on lower portion of shabti may be remains of inscription in registers but too little is preserved to indicate this clearly. Collector's Marks: On the base is a white paper label with .c 85a written in black, in black directly on base is number 40, remains of adhesive possibly from collector paper labels are one rectangular mark with curved corners on lower front legs, and small oval on top of legs just below crossed arms. Cultural Significance: Wood shabtis were first produced during the Second Intermediate Period when resources were not as plentiful and cheaper and more easily worked materials were used for funerary goods. Wood shabtis of varying qualities workmanship continued to be produced throughout the New Kingdom. Resin covered wood shabtis were common from the late 18th through 19th Dynasties. Many of these wood shabtis had painted details and inscriptions that are lost with the deterioration of the resin covered surface. Comparanda: MFA Boston 72.48, 72.58, 72.74, 72.4099; University Penn Museum 85-4-3, 85-4-4, E15434; National Museums Liverpool M13593, 42.18.66, 1973.4.58, 1973.4.59a; UCL 40231, 57048, 57726, 57747; Louvre AF 11915, AF 11917, E 5641; British Museum EA8612, EA8666, EA8671, EA15270.
Notes: H. D. Schneider, ‘Shabtis. An introduction to the History of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Statuettes with a Catalogue of the Collection of Shabtis in the National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden’, 3 vols., Leiden 1977. Schneider classification: (tentative due to preservation) VB1/W4b/H2/possibly Tp1c or 7b
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