Egyptian Wooden Shabti for the High Priest of Amun

Ramesside Period, 19th Dynasty, New Kingdom of Egypt, c. 1294–1279 BC

An absolutely stunning and finely carved wooden ushabti depicting a standing wab priest of Amun, carved with remarkable sensitivity and presence. The figure stands frontally with fused legs, dressed in daily attire rather than the more common mummiform shabti type, indicating elevated status. The elongated body is subtly modelled, with a gently defined abdomen and softly rounded buttocks.

The head is surmounted by a finely incised tripartite wig with long lappets falling over the shoulders and partially covering a striped wesekh collar pectoral. The face is delicately carved, with smooth cheeks and a broad nose; the facial features appear to have been deliberately abraded in antiquity—a practice sometimes associated with ritual “deactivation”—and are now heavily worn through age. A short beard frames the chin. The slender arms are crossed over the chest, holding a djed pillar and a tyet amulet, powerful symbols of stability and protection. Notably, there is no basket on the back, further distinguishing this figure from typical worker shabtis. The figure wears a long pleated kilt with a frontal panel bearing a partially legible incised inscription reading:

“Glorifying the Osiris, the First Prophet (First God’s Servant) of Amun …”

Shabtis were funerary figurines intended to act as magical substitutes for the deceased, answering the call to perform manual labor in the afterlife. Over time, their numbers increased significantly; by the 21st Dynasty, elite burials might include up to 401 examples—one for each day of the year, plus overseers for each ten-day week. Worker shabtis typically carry agricultural tools, while overseer figures wear kilts and hold whips. This exceptional wooden example, with its refined carving, priestly iconography, and inscribed reference to the First Prophet of Amun, represents a rare and highly evocative survival from the height of the New Kingdom.

Good condition. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, nicks and chips, with encrusted patina and earthen deposits throughout. Traces of white gesso. Split down one side. Size approx. 19,4cm x 5,6cm x 3,2cm.

Provenance: From the collection of Nils Edvin Jönsson, cinematographer and close friend of Professor Vivi Laurent-Täckholm, who established the Department of Botany at Cairo University. Received as a gift from Professor Laurent-Täckholm in connection with the production of a television program in Egypt.

Previously in the Täckholm Collection, Sweden (formed c. 1890–1940), assembled primarily by Professor Richard Täckholm (1865–1937) and Professor Vivi Laurent-Täckholm, who lived and worked in Cairo between 1923 and 1978.

For a similar examples see: 

Shabti of Sety I, National Museums Liverpool, Accession number: M13578 (https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/shabti-of-sety-i-8)

Shabti, The British Museum, Accession Number: EA15300 (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA15300)