Egypt, 26th Dynasty or shortly after. Made for the Overseer of the Treasury Psamtek, son of Bastetiiridies. Holding a pick and hoe in his crossed hands, carrying a small seed back over his left shoulder. His face, with a broad nose typical for all shabtis of this important man, has a friendly expression. His tripartite wig and plaited beard are rendered with great detail. With back pillar and plinth. 17.5 cm, intact, with some staining and discoloration.

Provenance: Private UK collection, acquired in the early 1970s; ex-Jonathan Friedman collection.

The text reads: "Oh, these shabtis, if one counts off the Osiris, the Overseer of the Treasury, Psamtek, whose good name is Iahmes, justified, born to Bastetiiridies, to do any work which is done there in the god's land - indeed, an obstacle is implanted, therewith - as a man at his duties: "Here I am", you shall say; you are counted off at any time of serving there, to make arable the field, to irrigate the riparian land, to transport by boat the sand of the West to the East: "Here I am", you shall say."

Parallels: Shabtis for Psamtek can be found in the major museums of the world, among them the British Museum London, the Brooklyn Museum and the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, as well as in some private collections; see Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes, p. 225; Schneider, Shabtis, no. 5.3.1.134.

there is a reserve on this lot

Intact