Egyptian Multi-Stranded Mummy Bead Necklace Collection

A bright blue glazed worker shabti modelled on a rectangular base, arms crossed over the chest, detailing in black to the wig and eyes, holding a pair of hoes, a seed bag to the back, the hair tied with a seshed headband; a vertical column of hieroglyphs to the front of the body naming the wab-priest Pa-di-Khonsu-iy; repaired. 76 grams, 98 mm high



From a Worcester deceased estate. Property of a Cambridgeshire gentleman. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.

As a wab-priest, Pa-di-Khonsu-iy would have assisted a higher-ranking hem-priest with the general maintenance and ritual activities in a temple, likely located either in Thebes in Upper Egypt or Tanis in the Delta.

A pale blue glazed mummiform shabti for an Imy-Khent priest, modelled standing on a rectangular base, arms crossed over the chest and holding a pick and a hoe, seed bag over the left shoulder, wearing a tripartite wig and false beard; two vertical columns of hieroglyphs to the front of the body, plain dorsal pillar; some of the hieroglyphs spelling the owner's name are poorly rendered, but appears to be Ba-ankh-sa-sobeky. 99 grams, 13.5 cm high



From a Worcester deceased estate. Property of a Cambridgeshire gentleman. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.

Although the name of the shabti’s owner and, in particular, that of his parent, are rather unclear, the titles are clearly written and inform us that Ba-ankh-sa-sobeky served as an ‘Imy-khent priest’ associated with the Delta city of Mendes, where the principal deity was the sacred ram god Ba-neb-djedet (meaning ‘Ram, lord of Djedet’). The hieroglyph of the standing ram (Ba) forms the first part of the priest’s name. From the Late Period onwards the priestly title of the nearby city of Hermopolis Parva, ‘One who Separates the Two Gods’, also appears in Mendesian title strings, perhaps indicating that Hermopolis Parva and its religious cults had come under the control of Mendes; indeed, Mendes is thought to have been the capital of Egypt during the 29th Dynasty. The crocodile god Sobek was also worshipped at Mendes in later periods and Ba-ankh-sa-sobeky’s name appears to reflect both this reptilian deity and the traditional ram god of the city.

A glazed composition shabti with square base and plain dorsal pillar, tripartite wig and false beard, arms folded across the chest holding agricultural tools and a seed bag to the left shoulder; nine horizontal bands of worn hieroglyphic text from Chapter Six of the Book of the Dead to the lower body. 212 grams, 19.5 cm high



Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998.