ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Shabti of Queen Henuttawy

Place FoundThebes, Egypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodThird Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21

Date1076-944 BCE

MediumFaience

Credit LineGift of Clara M. and John S. O'Shea

Dimensions4 3/4 x 2 x 1/2 in. (12.1 x 5.1 x 1.3 cm)

Object number2010.038.001

Label TextQueen Henuttawy was of pivotal importance in Egyptian history and helped engineer a smooth transition from the New Kingdom to the Third Intermediate Period. She was the daughter of Ramesses XI, the last pharaoh of the Ramesside Period, and became Great Royal Wife of Pinedjem I, the High Priest of Amun who assumed royal titles and ruled Upper Egypt from Thebes, while another dynasty ruled in the Delta at Tanis. It was her son who became Pharaoh as Psusennes I at Tanis and re-unified Egypt.

The shabit is wearing a black tripartite wig with arms crossed, right over left, holding a hoe in each hand. A seed bag is hanging on the back. A column of hieroglyphs runs down the body, reading: The illuminated one, the Osiris, the King's Wife Henut-tawy.

Exhibition HistoryMCCM Rotunda, December 20, 2010 - March 29, 2012
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, June 17, 2013 - Present
Published ReferencesRupert Wace Ancient Art (2010), number 5.

Terms

ProvenanceSaid to have come from the first cache at Deir el-Bahari, Egypt, 1881. Ex coll. William Bowmore (1909-2008), Victoria, Australia, acquired 1950s-1960s. Purchased by MCCM from Rupert Wace Ancient Art, Ltd., London, England.

Status

On view

Collections