Overseer Ushabti

Artist Unknown Egyptian artist

Datecirca 1069–945 BCE

MediumFaience

Dimensions4 x 1 x 1 in. (10.2 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Gerhard L. Weinberg

Object number2016.23.6

On View

On view

Label TextThe terms shabti and ushabti refer to small funerary figurines used at very specific periods and are not interchangeable. Their function evolved somewhat over the millennia, but from the New Kingdom onward, they served as magic servant statuettes that worked on behalf of their owners in the afterlife. Even pharaohs owned such figurines.

Stored in ceramic jars or wooden boxes, a full set would include 365 servant figurines and 36 overseers, identifiable by their apron, totaling 401. Including servant statuettes in tombs may derive from the sacrificial burial of servants in some predynastic- and early dynastic-period graves—an inhumane practice the Egyptians quickly abandoned.

[C. Rocheleau, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]ProvenanceSale, London, Christie’s, December 12, 1990, lot 202 (lots 199–219 listed as from “various properties,” no provenance details available); sold to Gerhard Weinberg, Efland, NC; on extended loan to NCMA, 2008–2016; given to NCMA, 2016.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) makes images of its collection available online to support research and scholarship and to inform and educate the public. Certain works of art, as well as the photographs of those works of art, may be protected by copyright, trademark, or related interests not owned by the NCMA. The responsibility for ascertaining whether any such rights exist and for obtaining all other necessary permissions remains with the applicant. To request images and/or permissions from the NCMA, please complete our online request form.