An extremely fine and rare black serpentine shabti, depicted in mummiform pose with the arms folded across the chest, agricultural implements in the hands, a seed bag across the back; to the face, large, almond-shaped eyes and an enigmatic slight smile; wearing a striated tripartite wig and wesekh collar; the body inscribed with six lines of hieroglyphic text comprising a shortened version of Chapter Six of 'The Book of the Dead' (the 'shabti' chapter), separated by a wider central column to the front; an image of Isis, winged and seated, to the centre, two wedjat eyes above her wings; inscriptions for 'the illuminated one', 'Iri ka'.

PROVENANCE:
Ex Douglas Rose collection; Plaisant Jozef Nestor; Christie's New York, 8th June 2005, lot 10 and 5-6 December 2001, lot 300.

LITERATURE:
See Janes, G (2002) Shabtis: A Private View, p. 30, n. 9. The present example bears close similarities, in material and design, to a shabti made for one Pa-hem-neter. Janes suggests, on the basis of these similarities, that the present shabti should be identified with the one who dedicated Pa-hem-neter's shabti, and may be attributable to a workshop in Memphis.