Worker Shabti of Nauny
Almost 400 small funerary figures known as shabtis were found with Nauny’s burial. These can be seen as avatars, meant to carry out agricultural labor on Nauny’s behalf in the afterlife. Of the 393 shabtis discovered, 355 were workers like this one, and 37 were overseers (see for example 30.3.28.3). Based on other assemblages from this era, Nauny originally might have had a total of 365 workers, one for each day of the year. This mummiform figure holds a hoe in each hand and has a basket on its back. The inscription on the front of the body calls Nauny a King’s Daughter, and an “illuminated Osiris.” This indicated that she had been transformed through the process of mummification and identified with the principal god of the dead, then reanimated by the light of the sun god as he traveled through the Netherworld each night. Nauny’s shabtis were divided between seven boxes. Five of these, with their shabtis, were given to The Met, while two were sent to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Artwork Details
- Title: Worker Shabti of Nauny
- Period: Third Intermediate Period
- Dynasty: Dynasty 21
- Reign: reign of Psusennes I
- Date: ca. 1050 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Tomb of Meritamun (TT 358, MMA 65), first corridor, burial of Nauny, MMA excavations, 1928–29
- Medium: Faience
- Dimensions: H. 8.9 × W. 3.3 × D. 2.2 cm (3 1/2 × 1 5/16 × 7/8 in.)
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1930
- Object Number: 30.3.26.17
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
ca. 1279–1213 B.C.
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
ca. 1525–1504 B.C.
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
ca. 1550–1458 B.C.
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.