Egyptian shabti for General Pa-khaas, Late Dynastic Period, 30th Dynasty, c.380-343 BC
Faience
Height: 19.8cm
11382
Charles Ede, London
Further images
Well-modelled ushabti in pale green faience, the figure wearing a false beard and striated tripartite wig. He holds a pick and flail with hands crossed over his chest, a seed...
Well-modelled ushabti in pale green faience, the figure wearing a false beard and striated tripartite wig. He holds a pick and flail with hands crossed over his chest, a seed bag over his left shoulder. The inscription on nine lines consists of the Shabti Spell from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, and identifies the owner as the Overseer of the Soldiers, General Pa-khaas, born of Tashadidi (his mother). An old collection label adhered to the dorsal column reads ‘..are found in...catacombs & pyramids...[shabtis] were placed in the coffins under the mummy - It is supposed that the name and age are engraved...’
Minor areas of restoration to nose, flail, crook, knuckles, and tip of beard.
Shabtis of the General Pa-khaas are well known and highly sought after, due to the high quality of the moulding and the fine facial features. Examples can be found in many museums including the Louvre, Cairo, Copenhagen, London, Odessa, Bonn and the Vatican; around 40 figurines in total are in museums, and many more in private collections. The shabtis dedicated to General Pa-khaas come from a tomb in Giza that is now lost (according to ‘Le Journal d’entrée au Musée du Caire’). Almost all of them recount Chapter 6 from the Book of the Dead, except for a very few that remained undecorated.
Minor areas of restoration to nose, flail, crook, knuckles, and tip of beard.
Shabtis of the General Pa-khaas are well known and highly sought after, due to the high quality of the moulding and the fine facial features. Examples can be found in many museums including the Louvre, Cairo, Copenhagen, London, Odessa, Bonn and the Vatican; around 40 figurines in total are in museums, and many more in private collections. The shabtis dedicated to General Pa-khaas come from a tomb in Giza that is now lost (according to ‘Le Journal d’entrée au Musée du Caire’). Almost all of them recount Chapter 6 from the Book of the Dead, except for a very few that remained undecorated.
Provenance
Rockford College Art Collection, Illinois, USA; acquired in the
19th century
Private collection, Switzerland; acquired April 2007
Literature
For the General Pa-khaas (not to be confused with the admiral of the same name) see Jacques-F and Liliane Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes (Paris, 1974), p.253. For examples in the Louvre see Inventory number: E 20140 and N 2734 T. For one in the British Museum see EA34186.