LOT 0014

Egyptian Wooden Shabti of Pharaoh Seti I

NEW KINGDOM, 19TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1291-1278 B.C.

7 1/4 in. (82.7 grams, 18.5 cm).

Mummiform shape with a long lappet wig and crossed arms, the hands modelled in relief, bearing six rows of hieroglyphic inscription arranged around the lower half of the body, presenting a version of Chapter 6 from the Book of the Dead, including the cartouches containing his throne name Men-Maat-Re ('Eternal is the justice of Re') and his birth name Seti-mery-en-Ptah ('Seti beloved of Ptah'); traces of black varnish visible, particularly between the lappets and on either side of the head. [No Reserve]

Acquired in London from an antiques market in 1960s for £20.00.
From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13497-263004.

Cf. Janes, G., The Shabti Collections 6: A Selection from the World Museum, Liverpool, Lymm, 2016, pp.86-89 (M13581– M13582), for two Seti I shabtis with similar hand positions and text arrangement; Bovot, J-L., Les serviteurs funéraires royaux et princiers de l’Ancienne Égypte, Paris, 2003, pp. 103-112, 127-128, 131-160, 166-167, for examples in the Louvre; Hepper, N., 'Amelia Edwards' Sethos I shabti, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 86 (2000), p. 165, for discussion of the timber species.

Seti I was buried at Thebes in a large, lavishly decorated tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV 17). His funerary equipment included about 700 shabtis, some made of faience and stone, but most were made of wood. Although carving finesse and overall finish varied, Seti I's wooden shabtis comprised at least two main types: those, like this example, in which the crossed arms are unmodelled and indicated only by the swell of the elbows, while the hands are boldly carved, and those in which both the arms and hands are more plastically rendered. Both forms could be uninscribed or bear both of Seti I's cartouches and a version of the shabti spell (Chapter 6 from the Book of the Dead). Analysis of one of Seti I's wooden shabtis identified the timber species as juniper.