Step 6 of 9

Third Intermediate Period-fashion

Related Images

  • Fig. 1 - So-called stick-shabti from the 17th dynasty - British Museum [EA36244](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA36244)
  • Fig. 2 - Ushabti of Painedjem from the Third Intermediate Period, with filet. - Metropolitan Museum of Art [10.130.1055b](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/553271)
  • Fig. 2 - Ushabti of Painedjem from the Third Intermediate Period, with filet. - Metropolitan Museum of Art [10.130.1055b](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/553271)
  • Fig. 3 - Ushabti dating to the Ptolemaic period, with backpillar and tripartite wig. - British Museum [EA37333](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA37333)
  • Fig. 3 - Ushabti dating to the Ptolemaic period, with backpillar and tripartite wig. - British Museum [EA37333](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA37333)

The ushabti’s fashionable headband gives us a clear indication of the period this ushabti dates to.

Ushabtis with this type of filet became very common during the Third Intermediate Period. (1069-664 BC) H. M. Stewart, Egyptian Shabtis (Buckinghamshire, 1995), 35. The bag on the back of the figurine is very typical for this period as well. In general, shabtis and ushabtis are quite easy to date, as an extensive typology has been created over the years. For instance, shabtis from the early Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) tend to have no hands or implements. A bit later the shabtis began to have the first inscriptions, and some of them held implements, like the ankh-sign or libation vases. Crude, wooden shabtis, also called ‘stick-shabtis’, became popular during the 17th dynasty (1580-1550 BC) (Fig. 1). From the 18th dynasty (1550-1295 BC) onwards, we see most shabtis holding the hoe and with a bag on their back. As said, during the Third Intermediate Period the filet or seshed headband became common. (Fig. 2) Ushabtis from the Late Period (664-332 BC) and Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC) are often recognizable by their back pillar and the plinth they are standing on, in combination with the tripartite wig. (Fig. 3)