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Lot 122A
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Egyptian Third Intermediate Banded Alabaster Ushabti
Egyptian Third Intermediate Banded Alabaster Ushabti
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Description:

Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 21st to 25th Dynasty, ca. 1069 to 664 BCE. An impressive ushabti figure, hand-carved from light pink alabaster with natural banding of darker and lighter hues across the surface. The figure stands in mummiform with fused legs with crossed hands held against the chest beneath sloping shoulders. Raised facial features like a perky nose, full lips, a rounded chin, and heavy lidded eyes comprise the minimalist visage, all crowned by a tripartite wig. Trace remains of black pigment suggest this sculpture was at one time painted, possibly with a column of painted hieroglyphic text down the front of the legs. Size: 1.3" L x 1.8" W x 5.3" H (3.3 cm x 4.6 cm x 13.5 cm)

The ancient Egyptians believed that after they died, their spirits would have to work in the "Field of Reeds" owned by the god of the underworld, Osiris. This meant doing agricultural labor, and it was required by all members of society, from workers to pharaohs. During the Pharaonic period, they had become so necessary and elaborate that some tombs contained one worker for every day of the year and thirty-six overseers, each responsible for ten laborers. Workers like these are from that period of enormous proliferation, and are some of our best surviving insights into ancient Egyptian funerary practices.

A stylistically-similar example with incised details hammered for GBP 6,250 ($8,057.50) at Christie's, London, South Kensington Antiquities auction (sale 7207, October 25, 2012, lot 46).

Provenance: private R.D. collection, Long Beach, California, USA collection, acquired from an Egyptian antiquities dealer, Cairo, Egypt, in the late 1990s

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#189552

  • Condition: Chips with small loses to feet. Some expected weathering to surface, but otherwise, nice presentation

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000