Ushabti can be translated as “the answerer,” a
term directly related to its function in the
afterlife. Initially, only one ushabti was interred
with the deceased. When the call came for the
departed soul to “work,” the ushabti would take
its place acting as a surrogate and leaving the
soul in peace. Later, in the New Kingdom,
hundreds of ushabti were part of the funerary
accouterments and served as slaves, much as
their human counterparts did in the real world.
The number of figures depended on the
individual's wealth. Ready for hard work, this
elegant ushabti holds two hoes, one in each
hand. Embodied in its form is the essence of
ancient Egypt, combining the sacred element in
the divine mummy shape, and the rural aspect of
labor in the fields. Blue and green faience were
the most prized and valuable, considered worthy
even for kings. The lovely green of the stone
reminds us of the verdant fields watered by the
Nile, flowing eternally, as does the life force that
nourishes all living things.
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. 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 answerer." 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
as a substitute. Many have been 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.
- (SP.628)
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