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Egyptian Antiquities :
Egyptian Ushabtis : 26th Dynasty Faience Ushabti
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26th Dynasty Faience Ushabti - X.0344
Origin: Egypt
Circa: 664
BC
to 525
BC
Dimensions:
4.25" (10.8cm) high
x 1.5" (3.8cm) wide
Collection: Egyptian
Medium: Faience
Additional Information: May he be illuminated the Osiris.Pad-Di-Usir.Born of the lady Tut-gem the true of voice.
£6,500.00
Location: Great Britain
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| Description |
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The 26th Dynasty, also known as the Saite
Period, is traditionally placed by scholars at the
end of the Third Intermediate Period or at the
beginning of the Late Dynastic Period. In either
case, the Saite Period rose from the ashes of a
decentralized Egyptian state that had been
ravaged by foreign occupation. Supported by the
assistance of a powerful family centered in the
Delta town of Sais, the Assyrians finally drove
the Nubians out of Egypt. At the close of this
campaign, Ashurbanipal’s kingdom was at the
height of its power; however, due to civil strife
back east, he was forced to withdraw his forces
from Egypt. Psamtik I, a member of the family
from Sais, seized this opportunity to assert his
authority over the entire Nile Valley and found
his own dynasty, the 26th of Egyptian history.
Known as the Saite Period due to the importance
of the capital city Sais, the 26th Dynasty, like
many before it, sought to emulate the artistic
styles of past pharaohs in order to bolster their
own claims to power and legitimize their
authority.
Faience, which dates back to predynastic times,
at least 5,000 years, is a glasslike non-clay
substance made of materials common to Egypt:
ground quartz, crushed quartz pebbles, flint, a
soluble salt-like baking soda, lime and ground
copper, which provided the characteristic color.
The dried objects went into kilns looking pale
and colorless but emerged a sparkling "Egyptian
blue." Called tjehnet by the Ancient Egyptians,
meaning that which is brilliant or scintillating,
faience was thought to be filled with the undying
light of the sun, moon and stars and was
symbolic of rebirth. Ancient Egyptians believed
the small blue-green objects helped prepare
them for eternity in the afterlife.
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 the Egyptian belief in an afterlife,
while the pick and hoes clutched in the hands, as
well as the seed bag slung over his shoulder,
recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The
word ushabti (supplanting the older term
shawabti) literally means “the answerer.” The
function of these little figures is described in
Chapter 6 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 a given tomb; but by the New Kingdom,
the statues had come to be regarded as servants
and slaves for the deceased rather than as 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 26th Dynasty, a green
faience, the color of the Nile and evocative of the
verdant landscape in springtime, was particularly
popular. Along the body of this ushabti, a
vertical column of hieroglyphic inscription has
been inscribed. Such inscriptions generally offer
prayers from the deceased and reveal the
ushabti’s readiness to perform labor. To look
upon this ushabti is to come face to face with the
mystery and magic of Egypt itself.
- (X.0344)
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