Shabti (Funerary Figurine) of Nebseni
New Kingdom, early Dynasty 18, about 1570 BCE
Medium
Wood (tamarisk) and pigment
Dimensions
28 × 8.3 × 6.4 cm (11 × 3 1/4 × 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
ushabti
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
120268
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
To assure themselves a comfortable afterlife, Egyptians stocked their tombs with at least one figurine called an ushabti, who acted as a servant in the afterlife. The message carved on each of the figurines explained that if the deceased is called on to do any work in the afterlife, the ushabti will respond with “Here I am” and will do the job. Some tombs had as many as one ushabti for every day of the year and another 36 overseers to keep order. All but the poorest citizens provided themselves ...
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....