18th Dynasty Ushabtis – Ushabti Friends

As part of my “Ushabti Friends” series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 and how those characteristics can help you to narrow down the age/time period that the ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 is from!

Both of these ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 that we are going to look at today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 are from the Brooklyn Museum! Both of these ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 are beautiful 𓄤𓆑𓂋 and unique and are dated to the same time period even though they look different and are made of different materials! In the first image, the ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 on the left is made of limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉, while the painted ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 on the right is made of faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼. 

Both of these ushabtis are dated to the 18th Dynasty, but how do we know? Let’s go through the process of narrowing down the age: 

1. In each hand, both of the ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 are holding a hoe 𓌸 which is characteristic of ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 that were made from the 18th Dynasty to the 25th Dynasty! 
2. The real defining characteristic are the baskets that the ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 are holding in each hand – this is only found on ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 dated to the 18th Dynasty!

If you see a ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 and it’s holding a basket or a pot in each hand, it is an 18th Dynasty ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!