Shabti of Sety I

Mummiform shabti wearing a plain tripartite wig rudimentarily carved with narrow front lappets, worn low on the forehead. The face is fairly round in shape, the eyes are poorly defined. The nose is wide, fairly bulbous and rubbed. The ears are very indistinct. The arms are fairly thin, crossed right over left above the waist. The shabti does not carry implements in its hands and there is no basket on the back. The body is quite broad and the buttocks are gently defined. Only a few traces of varnish remain, mostly behind the upper arms, and the sides of the face. The shabti is inscribed with the throne name of the pharaoh Sety I, Menmmatra, within a cartouche and the 6th Chapter of the Book of the Dead. Inscription: seven lines; quite distinct. Carved from wood and coated with black resin. Feet missing. One of fifteen wooden shabtis of Sety I in World Museum's collection. Transliteration and translation of the inscription: sHD Wsir nsw.t Mn-MAa.t-Ra mAa-xrw Dd.f i SAb.ty ip.tn ir aS.t [i]r Hsb.tw Wsir sty-mr.y-n-PtH mAa-xrw r ir.t [kA.t nb(.t) irr.t i]m (m) Xr.t-nTr is Hw sDb.w i r Xr.wt.f m.k kA.tn i Hr.t nw nb srwD sx.t r smH.yt wDb.w r Xn.t say n imn.tt r iAb.tt r kA.t tn, "The illuminated one, the Osiris, the King, Men–Maat–Re, justified, he speaks: O, these shabtis, if one calls, if one reckons, the Osiris, Seti, Beloved of Ptah, justified, to do all the [works that are to be done there] in the realm of the dead – now indeed obstacles are implanted for him, as a man at his duties – ‘here I am’ you shall say, at any time, to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the river banks, ‘here I am.’"