Object Details
Culture
Egypt
late Dynastic Period (380–342 BC)
Medium
Faience with green glaze
Dimensions
Height: 8 1/4 inches (21 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired through the generosity of the members of the Museum Advisory Council, in honor of Genevieve M. Tucker, Chair of the Council, 2000–06, with additional support from the Bequest of Louise C. Stetter, in memory of W. Cornell Dechert, Class of 1928
Object
Number
2007.028
Provenance:
after 1833-63 Edward Roger Pratt (1789-1863), Ryston Hall, Norfolk, England (poss(…)
Provenance:
after 1833-63 Edward Roger Pratt (1789-1863), Ryston Hall, Norfolk, England (possibly acquired on a trip to Egypt, 1833-34, or through the Giovanni d’Athanasi sale at Sotheby’s, London, 13 March 1837) [1]; 1863-before 2006 collection of Pratt family, England (by descent) [2]; 2006-07 Rupert Wace Ancient Art Limited, London, England (acquired through private dealer acting on behalf of Pratt family) [3]; 2007 collection of Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca (purchased through Rupert Wace Ancient Art Limited at The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), Maastricht) [4]
74N.B. Provenance is based on research into historic information and documentation. Such research is ongoing, and records may be revised or updated from time to time. Complete provenance is the exception, not the rule.
[1] and [2] Invoice and letter from Rupert Wace Ancient Art Limited to Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, 28 March 2007 and 29 March 2007, respectively.
[3] and [4] ibid. See also the Museum’s Form of Preparation of Invoices / Terms and Conditions of Acquisition completed by dealer, undated: “Acquired Dec. 2006. Art Trade.”
——
Label text:
In this funerary figurine, Pakhadisu is represented mummiform, with arms clasped across his chest, each hand holding a mattock (an agricultural implement for tilling the soil). He wears a three-part wig and a false beard. The inscriptions around the bodies of these figures, called shabtis, typically give the name of the dead person and quote Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, asking that the statuette substitute for the dead person in the Hereafter whenever he or she might be called upon to perform specific duties. By this time in ancient Egypt, there would be one shabti for each day of the year plus 36 overseers. This example is unusually fine in its modeling. (Source: F. D. Friedman, “Gifts of the Nile,” 1998.)
