Bright blue glazed faience shabti. Headband, ribbon, implements and eyes in black. Inscription down front. Squat shape. 9.7cm high. 4.5cm at widest part. Owner is Henuttawy. Probably from Deir el Bahri Cache 2 (Daressy A46, Bab el-Gasus, the tomb cache of the Priests of Amun discovered in 1891). Gift from University of Wales Aberystwyth. Shabtis were put in tombs to do work for their owners in the afterlife. Occasionally also they were placed posthumously in temples and other sacred places so that the owner could take part in the festivals. (But see Poole, F. Slave or Double? A reconsideration of the conception of the shabti in the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period. In C.J. Eyre 1998. 'Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists. Cambridge 3-9th September 1995'. Leuven, Peeters, 893-901).
