A SHABTI OF KING TAHARQA

Abstract

Shabtis are funerary objects of importance among the equipment of the deceased in ancient Egypt. Placed in tombs, their purpose was to work for the dead in the afterlife. This article deals with a recently restored shabti of one of the great kings of the Third Intermediate Period, king Taharqa of the 25th Dynasty. It was among the king's collection of artefacts found inside his pyramid in Nuri in Lower Nubia. The shabti bears a versionof the Sixth Chapter of the Book of the Dead. It asks the shabti to do work on behalf of his owner in the afterlife. The article compares this shabti and others belonging to Taharqa, as well as those of the king's successors, notably his grandson king Senkamanisken.

Keywords

• nuri
• taharqa
• book of dead vi
• shabti
• senkamanisken
• third intermediate period