Shabti of Sety I

Shabti of Sety I

New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, Reign of Sety I, 1290-1279 BC

Egypt

Wood, resin
19.6 cm High x 5.8 cm x 4.1 cm

2018.010.609

The Egyptian ruler Sety I was buried with over 1000 shabtis of different materials, many of which are found in Egypt and museums around the world. When the king’s tomb (KV 17) was discovered by Giovanni Belzoni in 1817, he found shabtis strewn across the tomb floor. The king’s wooden shabtis were coated with resin, known as ‘black varnish,’ symbolizing the god Osiris and life after death.

Shabtis were placed in the tomb to serve as surrogate for the king if he was called upon to do manual labor in the hereafter. The mummiform figurine is inscribed with the “shabit text” – Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead – and royal cartouches containing the king’s name, Sety, and his throne name or prenomen, Menmaatra.

The shabti was sold by Jean-Francois Mignon to Georges Ricard on 22 May 1978, who stated the shabti was “found by Belzoni in 1817.” Jean-Francois Mignon, bought and sold objects privately in Aix-en Provence and started his career under Roger F. Galliano, a member of the Conciliation Commission at Central Customs in Paris, certified expert of the Chamber of Auctioneers of France and Judicial Officer of Geneva. Georges Ricard also acquired several other wooden shabtis of Sety I, including one from the Belmore collection.

[See additional images below]

Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Parallels and References:

Many parallels in Leiden, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden; London, British Museum; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Rome, Vatican Museum, among others.

Schneider, H. 1977. Shabtis, Part II (Leiden: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden), pp. 30-32.
Aubert, J.-F. & L. Aubert 1974. Statuettes Égyptiennes: Chouabtis, Ouchebtis (Paris: Maisonneuve), pp.79-81, pls.12-13.