<em>Shabty of the Woman Ahhotep</em>, ca. 1514–1425 B.C.E. Limestone, 8 9/16 x 2 11/16 x 1 3/4 in. (21.7 x 6.9 x 4.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.122E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.122E_NegB_glass_bw_SL4.jpg)

Shabty of the Woman Ahhotep, ca. 1514–1425 B.C.E. Limestone, 8 9/16 x 2 11/16 x 1 3/4 in. (21.7 x 6.9 x 4.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.122E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.122E_NegB_glass_bw_SL4.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What is a shabti?

Shabties are small figurines that often look like little mummy figures. They are usually inscribed with magical spells that help them to perform various tasks in the underworld.

They basically act as servants or personal assistants to a deceased person! They were buried with that person in order to help him/her in the next life.

Like what tasks? Daily chores like a servant does?

The deceased were expected to do work in the afterlife and shabties served as stand-ins so deceased souls could relax instead of working. For example, some of the shabties were specifically designed to perform "agricultural tasks" -- that is, farming!

The English word "shabti" comes from the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs meaning "the-one-who-replies."

Who is Shabty?

Shabty isn't actually a who, but a what. A shabty is essentially a helper mummy, a small figurine of a servant. This figurine would be buried with an individual to help them with tasks like farming in the afterlife.

Shabty of the Woman Ahhotep

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Ahhotep, nicknamed Tuiu, was married to a temple official named Ineni. Her shabty probably came from the tomb the couple shared at Thebes. This statue’s wide eyes and large, clearly defined mouth resemble the facial features on images of Thutmose I, his daughter Hatshepsut, and figures of the great courtier Senenmut, who lived during Hatshepsut’s reign. These stylistic conventions are characteristic of most early Eighteenth Dynasty sculpture and do not reflect Ahhotep’s actual appearance.

MEDIUM Limestone

Possible Place Made: Thebes, Egypt

DATES ca. 1514–1425 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 8 9/16 x 2 11/16 x 1 3/4 in. (21.7 x 6.9 x 4.5 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 37.122E

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Limestone ushabti inscribed for the lady Ah-hotep. Mummiform and wearing a heavy tripartite wig. Her hands are crossed over her breasts. Six registers of hieroglyphs in sunk relief run around the figure below her hands. Face well modeled. Condition: The nose is broken on the left side. The left hand corner of the piece is chipped. Some staining exists and quite a bit of superficial dirt. The hieroglyphs exhibit traces of blue frit inlay.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Shabty of the Woman Ahhotep, ca. 1514–1425 B.C.E. Limestone, 8 9/16 x 2 11/16 x 1 3/4 in. (21.7 x 6.9 x 4.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.122E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.122E_NegB_glass_bw_SL4.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 37.122E_NegB_glass_bw_SL4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS