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
- (cb.2980)
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