Shabti of Horwedja

Faience shabti of Horwedja, a priest of the goddess Neith in Dynasty 30 (about 380 - 343 BC). This is one of 399 shabtis inscribed for Horwedja found in his family tomb by Flinders Petrie and his team during 13–19 January 1889. His shabti is holding farming tools so that he can work in the 'Field of Reeds'. Across his mummiform body he is inscribed with names and Spell 6 from the Book of the Dead: ‘Spell for making shabtis do work in the afterlife’. This is a pale turquoise glaze faience mummiform shabti wearing a plain tripartite wig and a plaited divine beard. The arms are crossed right over left on the chest and the hands protrude from a shroud to hold in the left, a pick, and in the right a hoe and the twisted cord for a finely detailed basket which is suspended behind the left shoulder. The figure leans against a dorsal pillar and stands upon a trapezoidal base. The body of the shabti has nine horizontal bands of inscription naming the owner as Horwedja, born to Shedet, followed by Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. The hieroglyphic text reads: The illuminated one, the Osiris, the God’s servant of Neith, Horwedja, born (to) Shedet, justified, he speaks: O, these shabtis, if one counts, the Osiris, the God’s servant of Neith, Horwedja, born (to) Shedet, justified, to do all the works that are to be done there in the realm of the dead – now indeed obstacles are implanted therewith – as a man at his duties, ‘here I am,’ you shall say when you are counted off at any time to serve there, to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the river banks, to ferry the sand of the west to the east and vice–versa; ‘here I am,’ you shall say”. Transliteration of the inscription: sHD Wsir Hm-nTr N.t Hr-wDA ms (n) Sd.t mAa-xrw Dd.f i w[S]b.ty ipn ir ip.tw Wsir Hm-nTr N.t Hr-wDA ms (n) Sd.t mAa-xrw r ir.t kA.t nb(.t) ir(.t) im m Xr.t-nTr n is[t] Hw sDb.w im m s r Xrt.f m.k wi kA.tn ip.tw.tn r nw nb ir.t im r srwD sx.t r smH.y wDb.w r Xn.t Say imn.tt r iAb.tt Ts pXr m.k wi kA.tn,