Ca. 664-332 BC. Late Period. A pale blue-glazed faience shabti on a modern stand. The head wears a striated lappet wig and a false beard, with exquisitely detailed facial features modelled on the front, ears peeking out in front of the wig. The figure is mummiform, and two hands emerge at the sides of the chest, holding an adze and hoe (farming/irrigation implements) vertically. On the back, an incised rendering of a seed bag is slung over the left shoulder, and a dorsal column runs down the rear. The front of the body contains faint traces of a column of black-glazed hieroglyphs, now mostly vanished and illegible. This inscription would probably have included the name and some titles of the tomb-owner. The Egyptian idea of Paradise ('Sekhet Aaru' - 'the Field of Reeds') was an idealised reflection of Egypt itself, and this meant bountiful agriculture - something that required servants and farmhands to be taken to the afterlife. Shabti like this one were buried as grave goods, sometimes in groups of hundreds, to be brought to life for that very purpose. From the reign of Thutmose IV they were typically depicted with an adze, a hoe, and a seed bag to fulfil this function, taking the chores of Paradise off the deceased's hands. During this period, they were called upon using the Book of the Dead (chapter 6). Size: L:160mm / W:50mm ; 102g. Provenance: From the important collection of a London doctor A.R; passed by descent to his son; formerly acquired before 2000 on the UK art market