Ushebti; Egypt, New Kingdom, 1539-1077 B.C. Polychrome wood. Remains of polychrome. Presents faults and losses. Measurements: 20,5 x 4 x 3 cm. Ushebti moniform made of wood with tripartite crown and arms crossed on the chest. In spite of the passage of time the piece shows a good state of conservation, still maintaining remains of polychromy. The ushebtis, Egyptian term meaning "those who respond", are small statuettes that, in ancient Egypt, were deposited in the tombs as part of the grave goods of the deceased, and whose function was to replace him in the work to be done in the afterlife. Most of them were made of ceramic, wood or stone, although in the richest tombs they could be found carved in lapis lazuli. The oldest preserved examples come from the Middle Empire, although we already find references to them in texts from the end of the Ancient Empire. The ushebtis are, after the sacred scarabs, the most numerous and possibly the most characteristic pieces of Egyptian art that have survived to the present day. Throughout time they always maintained the same function in the religious sphere but, while during the Middle Empire they were conceived as the representation of their owner before Osiris in the tasks of tillage of the kingdom of the shadows, replicas therefore of the deceased, from the New Empire they came to be seen as servants or slaves of the latter, coming to be made in large quantities. Remains of polychrome. It presents faults and losses.