Ca. 664-332 BC. Late Period. A pale blue-glazed faience shabti on a modern stand, with a reddish-brown colouring over the upper half of the front. The head wears a lappet wig and a false beard, with detailed facial features and ears modelled on the front. The figure is mummiform, and two incised hands emerge on the chest, holding an incised adze and hoe each (farming/irrigation implements). 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 bound and mummiform legs and stomach is incised with a column of hieroglyphs, saying the formulaic 'the illuminated one, the Osiris. The illuminated one, the Osiris'. The first iteration of the phrase is clear against the red section, while the repetition on the blue section is fainter. The term 'the Osiris' is often attached to the deceased individual in Egyptian funerary literature, as part of a human's journey to the next life included merging with the god Osiris, so it here references the dead person more than the god. Similarly, the term 'the illuminated one' is typically attached to the deceased; it probably refers to how the deceased was also considered to merge with the sun god Ra at one point on their journey, juxtaposing their integrations with both Osiris and Ra. There is no name given on this shabti, suggesting it might have been produced for a non-specific buyer, with the intention of adding the name of whoever bought it later onto the blank dorsal column. 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:120mm / W:35mm ; 55g. 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.