LOT 0009

Egyptian Royal Shabti of the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Qedmerut

THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, 22ND DYNASTY, 945-720 BC

3 3/4" (4") (52.4 grams, 96mm high (61.6 grams total,10.5cm including stand)).

A green-glazed composition shabti figurine wearing a tripartite wig with seshed fillet painted in black, uraeus on the forehead; arms crossed and holding a flail in each hand, seed-bag on the back; a painted column of hieroglyphs and a cartouche for 'Qedmerut, the Divine Adoratrice of Amun' to the front; accompanied by a custom-made display stand.

By repute discovered by W.M.F. Petrie at the Ramesseum in 1898 and given to Sir George Dancer Thane, F.R.C.S.Eng.LL.D., Sc.D., F.Z.S. (1850-1930), Dean of the Medical Faulty, University College London.
Bonham's, London, 5th July 1994, lot 478.
With Charles Ede, London, UK.
Bonham's, London, 30 April 1996, lot 298.
Private collection of Egyptologist Paul Whelan, Hertfordshire, UK.
Accompanied by copies of the relevant Aubert and Aubert and Egyptian Research Account, 1896, The Ramesseum, pages.
Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages.

Charles Ede Ltd, Small Sculpture from Egypt, catalogue XXII, 1995, no.44.

Cf. Aubert, J.-F. & Aubert, L., Statuettes Egyptiennes. Chaouabtis Ouchebtis, Paris, p.166-167, pl.51, fig.120; The British Museum, museum numbers EA37421 and EA71046; Manchester Museum, accession numbers 4635, 5948 and 9386.

The prominent title 'The Divine Adoratrice of Amun' was for the chief priestess of Amun, who would have maintained the god's cult on behalf of the king, holding great power. Qedmerut's exact chronological position in the line of successors is uncertain but it is likely that she was the successor of Karomama G, based on the typology of her shabti figures. She would have been a high born woman, a daughter or wife of one of the Libyan or Theban priest kings, indicated by the royal uraeus on her forehead.

Many of the known examples have the Ramesseum as their provenance, although the queen's tomb is not known. There are specimens in the British Museum, Petrie Museum UCL (2), Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Berlin and Leiden Museums.