USHABTIS: 



Tomb Figurines 

 Of Ancient Egypt 



by Frank J. Yurco 



In ancient Egypt, the ushahti developed as part of 

 the Osiride funerary practice. None are known 

 from before the Middle Kingdom Period (2134-1786 

 B.C.). But in that period, they began to be manufac- 

 tured. They may have been derived from small repre- 

 sentations of the deceased in mummiform wrappings, 

 but not long afterward a different association was 

 made for them. 



In the New Kingdom Period (1570-1 080 B.C. ) 

 the ushabtis came to be inscribed with a text drawn 

 from The Book of the Dead, called the ushabti 

 spell, no. 151: "The deceased NN says: 'Hail ushabti 

 figure, if 1 be called upon, or if any work is allotted to 

 me in the Afterlife, such as is done by people — 

 namely sowing fields, filling irrigation channels, or 

 bringing the sand of the west to the east, may you be 

 present when 1 call unto you.' " The Egyptians' after- 

 life was patterned upon their actual life, and the 

 ushabti was, in effect, a stand-in ready to do the 

 unpleasant chores that the deceased might be 

 called upon to perform. At the height of the New 

 Kingdom Period, a typical tomb held some 400 

 ushabtis, one for each day of the year, plus 35 or so 

 overseer ushabtis, distinguishable by their customs. 



The ushabtis follow coffin fashions, but they are 

 usually made of glazed frit, or faience, usually bluish- 

 green, or greenish. Other colors are also found: whit- 

 ish, reddish, depending,on what was mixed into the 

 glaze. In the examples shown here, the three smaller, 

 blue figures belong to a prophet of Amun, named 

 Hori. They resemble coffins of the XVlllth-XXlst 

 Dynasties. The taller, greenish ushabtis in the back 

 row are of the XXVlth Dynasty and were made for an 

 admiral named Heka-em-sa-ef. These four reflect cof- 

 fin design of the period, with a distinct base under 

 the feet and a back pillar to help them stand. Each 

 of these seven figurines may be seen in "Inside 

 Ancient Egypt." FM 



Franic J. Yurco, consultant for "Inside Ancient Egypt," is a doctor- 

 al candidate in Egyptology in the Department of Near Eastern 

 Languages and Civilizations of the University of Chicago. 



