As part of my โUshabti Friendsโ series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ to show how unique and wonderful these pieces are! Today ๐๐๐๐ณ we are going to look at the ushabtis of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh ๐๐ป Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ !ย
Pharaoh Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ had an estimatedย 1000+ ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช, however, only about 700 remain! Most of Seti Iโs ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช were wood ๐ฑ๐๐บ and when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti Iโs tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช as torches (this fact still haunts me – it was also one of my Nonnoโs favorite stories to tell). Anytime Seti I came up in conversation my Nonno would say โcan you believe some idiots used his ushabtis as torches??!!โ
Besides the tragic wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ ushabtis, Seti I ๐ช๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ธ๐ had many faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช. His faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช are such a beautiful ๐ค blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ color and are inscribed with the Shabti Spell in hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช.
Some of the wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช contain hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช as well, however, the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช are better preserved on some pieces better than others because wood ๐ฑ๐๐บ will naturally deteriorate over time due to the nature of the organic materials.
So how can we tell these are ushabtis of Seti I from the 19th Dynasty?
- The ushabtis were found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings
- The ushabtis are inscribed with his throne name (๐ณ๐ฆ๐ ) and birth name (๐ช๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ธ๐).
- The ushabtis have characteristics of the 19th dynasty such as the faience ushabtis which are holding a hoe in each hand ๐ธ (typical of 18th-25th dynasties)
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