Ca. 664–332 BC A group of three pale blue-glazed faience shabti figures in mummiform pose. Wearing a lappet wig and false beard, with detailed facial figures modelled on the front. The figures are mummiform, and have two incised hands emerging from their chest, holding an incised adze and hoe each (farming/irrigation implements). The front of the bound and mummiform legs and stomach is incised with a hieroglyphic inscription, saying, "The illuminated one, the Osiris. The illuminated one, the Osiris". 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. The name (of a person named Kheby) is written down the dorsal column on the rear. Size: L:Set of 3: 68.5-70.7mm / W:14-15mm ; 24.64gProvenance: Private London collection; ex. B. Kickx and J. Peeters collections, pre 1978, Belgium.