Ushabtis of Akhenaten at The MET

There are over 200 𓏲𓏲 ushabti 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 figures that belonged to Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖. It seems strange that Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 would be buried with ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 because he completely changed the Egyptian religion from the traditional polytheistic worship 𓇼𓄿𓀢 to the monotheistic worship 𓇼𓄿𓀢 of the Aten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳. This shows that while he did completely change Egypt’s 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 religion, some aspects of the old religion, such as belief in the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐, did remain and persist throughout his rule 𓋾.

While most ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 contain standard inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥 known as the “shabti spell” or “shabti text,” Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 only contain inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥 of his name 𓂋𓈖 and titles. This would make sense, since the “shabti spells” would be part of the traditional religion, and not the new one. Most of Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 are in various states of disarray, so this particular piece pictured 𓏏𓅱𓏏 does not have any visible inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥.

I love how blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 this ushabti 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 is! I’ve seen many of Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 in museums around the world, and this one is my favorite because of the color! Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 were probably made in different workshops throughout his reign, which is why there are so many different variations instead of a singular and uniform style.

I also love how the Ankhs 𓋹𓋹 in his hands 𓂧𓏏𓏦 are white 𓌉𓆓𓇳 and stand out against the blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼. The ushabti 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 also shows the traditional Amarna-era artistic style that is seen on most of the work from this time period.

Most of Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 are in various states of disarray, only one of these pieces has part of an inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 on it! While most ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 contain standard inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥 known as the “shabti spell” or “shabti text,” Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅞𓐍𓈖 ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 only contain inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥 of his name 𓂋𓈖 and titles. Let’s take a look at the partial inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥!

You can see the inscription of “𓆥,” which as we have learned previously can translate to “He of the Sedge and the Bee” or “King of Upper and Lower Egypt.” As we know, this is a very popular title to be seen before a cartouche!

The “𓇳” in the cartouche is probably part of one of Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 throne names, which would most likely be “𓇳𓄤𓆣𓇳𓏦𓌡𓈖,” since that is the only one of Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 name 𓂋𓈖 variants that begins with a “𓇳.”

Even though 𓇳𓄤𓆣𓇳𓏦𓌡𓈖 translates to “The Beautiful One of the Manifestations of Ra, the Unique one of Ra,” this variant was only seen after the name 𓂋𓈖 change from Amenhotep IV 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓊵𓊹𓋾𓌀 to Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖!

As I stated previously, Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 were probably made in different workshops throughout his reign, which is why there are so many different variations instead of a singular and uniform style. This picture shows a couple of the styles of ushabti 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 . While all of the ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 look different, they all show the traditional Amarna-era artistic style that is seen on most of the work from this time period.