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Lot Essay
King Senkamenisken's tomb yielded more shabtis than that of any other ruler, Nubian or Egyptian. Of the 1,277 examples discovered in the pyramid tomb Nuri 3 by Reisner, 867 were made of faience. While shabtis were originally an Egyptian funerary custom, the Nubians adopted the practice in this period. However, their statues were unique, blending features from different chronological periods in Egypt while adding their own cultural identifiers. In Nubia, shabtis were exclusively for royal individuals, differing from the Egyptian practice.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston owns approximately 218 small-sized royal shabtis for King Senkamenisken. Similar to this example, they characteristically lack the royal attributes of a nemes and double uraeus. For three examples in Boston see no. 153 in Friedman, Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience.
Each of the 218 small shabtis in Boston exhibit individual features. While the larger shabtis show evidence of being mold-made, the smaller ones do not follow this convention, appearing to be individually carved before firing. Perhaps such lavish attention was given to these numerous, diminutive figures as they were replacements for human sacrifices, a precursory practice (see pp. 241-242 in Friedman, op. cit.).
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston owns approximately 218 small-sized royal shabtis for King Senkamenisken. Similar to this example, they characteristically lack the royal attributes of a nemes and double uraeus. For three examples in Boston see no. 153 in Friedman, Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience.
Each of the 218 small shabtis in Boston exhibit individual features. While the larger shabtis show evidence of being mold-made, the smaller ones do not follow this convention, appearing to be individually carved before firing. Perhaps such lavish attention was given to these numerous, diminutive figures as they were replacements for human sacrifices, a precursory practice (see pp. 241-242 in Friedman, op. cit.).