Ushabti

Egyptian

Date unknown

Terracotta

Ushabtis were magical figurines placed in tombs to help the deceased with their labor in the next life. They functioned as servants, and some were depicted performing certain actions, such as farming, brewing beer, or rowing a boat for the deceased, although most are mummiform figures such as this. The relatively large size of this ushabti suggests it may have been made as one of many for a wealthy individual. The arms are folded across the chest, and the hands grasp flails, threshing tools that were also symbols of the Pharaoh and the god Osiris, ruler of the Afterlife.