This is the first post in a new series I am doing called “Ushabti Friends,” which aims to educate on the fascinating funerary objects called Ushabtis!
There are so many different types of ushabti ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ figures! Today, we are going to start off with the first known ushabti ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ figure which is called a “wax ushabti”
Before ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช we know and love evolved in the 12th Dynasty, wax ๐ ๐๐๐ธ๐ฆ figurines that looked like humans (and had their own mini coffins ๐ด๐ ฑ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฆ) were placed in tombs ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ช with the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ! They are known to Egyptologists as โwax ushabtis.โ
These precursor-ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช were made of beeswax and beeswax was said to have magical ๐๐๐ฟ๐ powers of protection ๐ ๐๐ก๐, resurrection, and regeneration.
The figures are somewhat detailed and were wrapped in a linen cloth ๐ฑ and placed in the mini-coffin ๐ด๐ ฑ๐๐๐ฑ. The coffin ๐ด๐ ฑ๐๐๐ฑ did not identify any role or jobs that the figure had (like the text on a ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ could identify what itโs job was), but it did identify the name ๐๐ of the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ. Sometimes even the standard Offering Formula (๐๐๐ต๐ an offering the king gives) appeared on the mini-coffin ๐ด๐ ฑ๐๐๐ฑ as if it were a real one!
If these figures werenโt workers, then what was their purpose? It is thought that this figure would take the place of the body should the body of the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ be destroyed.
Not many of these โwax ushabtisโ have been found, especially in comparison to the amount of ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช that have been found!
Ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช evolved into the little worker figures we know today during the 12th Dynasty, but became very popular during the New Kingdom.
This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย
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