Egyptian Ushabti?

Question

I have a terracotta ushabti from the 19th Dynasty. I am curious what sort of social status would the person with which it was buried originally have to have had to have such an object in their tomb?

Thanks, but that doesn't really answer my question.

Answer 1

Anyone with the social status to have had servants and could afford a tomb would have Usahbti buried with them to wait on them in the afterlife or to do the labor that might be required..

If the one you have is genuine it would be worth quite a bit of money. I saw an authentic one on sale at the Luxor in Vegas and it had a price tag of something in the neighborhood of $4000.00 and that was about 15 years ago.

Answer 2

The ushabti (also called shabti or shawabti, with a number of variant spellings) is a small figurine of ancient Egypt included in the grave goods of the dead. The figurine was believed to magically animate after the dead had been judged, then work for the dead person as a servant or substitute labourer in the fields of Osiris. The ushabti meant the "follower" or "answerer" in Ancient Egyptian because it "answered" for the deceased person and performed all the routine chores of daily life for its master.[1] Some tombs had the floor covered with a great many ushabti figurines, produced in quantity for the journey of the deceased. The figurines were made of clay, wood or stone.[2] Approximately 365 ushabti or servant statues were placed in a deceased Ancient Egyptians' tomb for each day of the year, but "pharaohs had considerably more of these servants than commoners, and king Taharqa had more than a thousand. On the front of the statues, the deceased's name was usually carved or written,...on more elaborate usabtis,a magical spell was inscribed to assure that it did it's work."[3] Some Egyptians had overseer ushabti that were responsible for groups of ten ushabti.

The ushabtis were used from the 11th Dynasty but became common and numerous in graves from the 21st Dynasty. They symbolically replaced genuine sacrificial burials. Early ushabti figurines were made from wax and clay; later figurines were of stone, terracotta, metal, glass and, most often, glazed earthenware. With increasing demand, the ushabti became standardised—made from single molds with little detail.

One of the more common examples pictured of the ushabti is one of faience glass glaze, because an Egyptian hieroglyphic statement, or story, is presented about the deceased individual. It is a statement either of the deceased's life, or their journey.

Answer 3

Ushabtis vary dramatically in size and quality. Some were quickly made mold-pressed statuettes while others were hand created and painted works of art. The social status of the person buried with your ushabti could be anywhere from a shop owner to a pharaoh.