Shabti Box of Djed maatiue sankh _ Painted Wood

 

Description

A painted wooden shabti box belonging to Djedmaatiuesankh who served as a ‘Chantress of Amun-Re’ in Dynasty 21. The shabti (funerary figurines) required for her burial would have been deposited in this box, where they were believed to lie sleeping until summoned to work on her behalf in the afterlife. The box has a barrel vaulted roof associated with the Lower Egyptian shrine. It is made of a number of wooden pieces pegged together and plastered over. The recumbent figure of god Anubis is shown holding the crook and flail of kingship on one side of the box, while Djedmaatiuesankh appears kneeling with one raised knee on a papyrus boat on the opposite side. She wears a red fillet and a long dress. The two short sides of the box show the left eye of the sun god with the hieroglyph for the West reaching out to extend life to the deceased and the ba (spirit) of Djedmaatiuesankh standing over food offerings in a gesture of adoration presumably toward the sun god.

Dimensions

Height 35 cm

Width 25 cm

Length 48 cm