Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 0498

Egyptian Wooden Shabti

NEW KINGDOM, 19TH-20TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1315-1081 B.C.

7 1/2 in. (46 grams, 19 cm high).

A carved wood shabti figure modelled mummiform with arms folded across the chest and wearing a tripartite wig, painted detailing to the front and rear of the body; remains of polychrome pigmentation.

Provenance

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

Literature

Cf. Franzmeier, H., Die Gräberfelder von Sedment im Neuen Reich II, Leiden, 2017, pls.1859 and 1865, for similar wooden shabtis found in tombs at Sedment.

Footnotes

Many crude wooden shabtis of this type were found at Gurob and Sedment; they range from having minimal decoration and no inscription to being entirely painted and inscribed.

CONDITION

VETTING:

TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process


AUCTIONS:

TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.

LOT 0498

Egyptian Wooden Shabti

Sold for (Inc. bp): £286

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Egyptian Blue Glazed Faience Amulet Collection
    Egyptian Blue Glazed Faience Amulet Collection
    New Kingdom-Late Period, circa 1315-380 B.C.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £312

    A trio of blue-glazed composition amulets: the god Bes modelled stooping and wearing plumed crown, pierced for suspension; a seated cat on an arch-shaped base, suspension loop to reverse; a frog scaraboid with stylised facial and body detailing, hieroglyphs engraved to oblong base naming Amun-Re, pierced for suspension. 5.93 grams total, 17-26 mm



    From an old UK collection. From the private collection of Alf Baxendale (1941-2016) part 2, keen Egyptologist, member of the Egyptology Society, trustee of the Amarna Trust; thence by descent. Accompanied by a copy of his obituary published in Horizon, The Amarna Project and Amarna Trust newsletter, Issue 18, 2017, p.21, by Barry John Kemp, CBE, FBA, Professor Emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge and directing excavations at Amarna in Egypt.

    Lot Details

  • Egyptian Blue Faience Shabti of Nesitanebisheru
    Egyptian Blue Faience Shabti of Nesitanebisheru
    Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty, circa 980-935 B.C.

    Estimate: £30,000 - 40,000 (‡+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £15,000

    A vibrant blue-glazed mummiform shabti of princess Nesitanebisheru, daughter of Pinudjem II, on a custom-made display stand; modelled with arms crossed over the chest, holding a hoe in each hand, wearing a tripartite wig; netted seed bag painted on the back; the bottom half of the figure bearing eight columns of hieroglyphic text in black giving a version of the shabti spell reading: (1) The illuminated one, the Osiris Nesitanebisheru, she says: (2) ‘O this shabti, if one counts, if one reckons to do (3) for the Osiris Nesitanebisheru, to cultivate the fields, (4) to irrigate the riparian lands, to transport by boat the sand of (5) the east (to) the west and vice-versa – now indeed obstacles are implanted (6) therewith – as a man at his duties (to do for ?) (7) the Osiris Nesitanebisheru, to do all the works that are to be done (8) in God’s land at any time to serve, ‘here I am,’ (you shall say). 314 grams total, 16.5 cm high including stand



    The object comes from the well known Deir el-Bahari cache (near Thebes) first discovered in 1870. Ex Zurich Antiquities Fair. Ex R. Liechti, Geneva, acquired from the above. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11598-198961.

    Nesitanebisheru’s burial was discovered in the famous ‘Royal Cache I’ at Deir el-Bahari (DB 320), with many dozens of coffins and vast quantities of funerary equipment belonging to pharaohs, including Thutmose III and Ramesses II, queens, and other royals, as well as elite members of society that had been reburied by Amun priests to hide them from tomb robbers. Nesitanebisheru’s coffin and burial equipment, including her shabtis, were found at the very end of the c. 70m long tomb in a chamber which served as a family vault for her father, the High Priest of Amun, Pinudjem II, and his principal wife Neskhons. While her worker shabtis are all mostly similar in style with 6-8 text columns, the composition of their inscriptions are not consistent with different openings and variations to the content (often including several peculiarities). Curiously, her titles do not appear in her shabti inscription, unlike those for her mother.

    Lot Details

  • Egyptian Lapis Lazuli Falcon-Head Scarab
    Egyptian Lapis Lazuli Falcon-Head Scarab
    Late Period, 664-343 B.C.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,680

    A lapis lazuli amuletic scarab with the falcon head of Ra with lappet headdress and broad collar; ribbed loop to the underside for suspension 6.9 grams, 25 mm



    UK art market, prior 2000. English private collection.

    This scarab was probably attached to the mummy, and its falcon head symbolising the sun-god Ra served to emphasise the solar aspect of the amulet, and give added potency to its regenerative power.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list