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Shabti of Nebdjefau with Donation Inscription

Place of production Deir el-Medina (?), Egypt
Date 13th century B.C.
Object type tomb equipment
Medium, technique Wood, painted; covered with bitumen
Dimensions

height: 29 cm (11 7/16 in.)

Inventory number 81.12-E
Collection Egyptian Art
On view Museum of Fine Arts, Basement Floor, Ancient Egypt, Funerary beliefs

The funerary statuette depicting a standing man is coated with a black varnish layer. The figure is wearing an ornate, pleated, protruding kilt typical of shabtis from the Nineteenth Dynasty. This one, in contrast to the shabti figures wrapped in a mummy bundle, depicts the deceased in festive attire tied to the earthly existence. The inscription on the funerary statue can be divided into three sections. The lines starting under the chest begin with the so-called shabti-formula, a funerary spell from the Book of the Dead corpus which is followed by an offering formula.
The third part is the dedication that reveals the identity of the commissioner. The owner of the object is a man called Nebdjefau who lived under the reigns of Seti I and Ramesses II.

This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.

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