What is an ushabti?
But what was the function of this little figurine? It is an example of a shabti, also called ushabti, or shawabti.
The earliest shabtis occurred at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, around 2000 BC. These early figures have been depicted as naked figurines made of wax (Fig. 1) and sometimes of Nile clay, without any attributes. Often, they were wrapped in mummy shrouds and placed into miniature coffins.
In the 13th dynasty, the so-called ‘shabti spell’, in long and short versions, began to be used. The content of this spell shows that the function of shabtis had changed considerably by this time: in the spell the shabti is asked to carry out work in the place of the deceased person in the afterlife. Whenever the deceased is called to do work, the shabti is to step forward in their place and say: ‘Here I am!’.
Shabtis were now used as substitutes of the deceased, who should take over the work that would have to be carried out in the afterlife in the dead person’s stead.
From the 21st dynasty onwards, the figurines were called ‘ushabti’ instead of ‘shabti’, deduced from the Egyptian verb ‘usheb’, which means ‘to answer’.
In general, ushabtis are thought to have been made in workshops, which were attached to temples or palaces. However, private workshops might have existed as well. The figurines could be made out of different materials. Besides the ones made from terracotta, like this one, we also find shabtis made out of wood, faience, bronze, glass and different types of stone.