51 - AN INSCRIBED PALE BLUE FAIENCE SHABTI, LATE PERIOD, DYNASTY XXX

AN INSCRIBED PALE BLUE FAIENCE SHABTI, LATE PERIOD, DYNASTY XXX Egypt, possibly Tell el-Rub'a, circa 380-343 BC. Finely modeled, standing on a rectangular base, holding the pick, hoe, and seed bag slung over the left shoulder, wearing a braided beard with a curled tip and tripartite wig falling to the top of the rectangular back pillar, his face with smiling mouth, broad nose, and deeply set eyes. Vertical and horizontal registers of finely incised hieroglyphs extend across the front and partly around the sides. Inscriptions: To the front, a T-shaped hieroglyphic inscription. Provenance: From an old private collection in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Expected wear and manufacturing irregularities, signs of weathering, minor pitting and abrasions, scattered encrustations. Weight: 89 g Dimensions: Height 13.5 cm The present shabti belongs to a distinctive Late Period type characterized by turquoise faience, a tripartite wig, long plaited beard, agricultural implements, back pillar, and a T-shaped hieroglyphic inscription. Particularly close parallels are found among the numerous shabtis made for the priest Nesbanebdjedet and discovered in his tomb at Mendes, including an example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object number 2021.41.126. While the close stylistic and epigraphic similarities suggest a possible connection with this group, the inscription of the present figure has not been deciphered. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby's New York, 10 December 2008, lot 4 Price: USD 12,500 or approx. EUR 17,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A pale blue faience ushabti of Nesbanebdjed, Dynasty 30, 380-342 BC Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, turquoise-blue faience, tripartite wig, long braided beard, agricultural implements, trapezoidal plinth, rectangular back pillar, and particularly the T-shaped inscription. Note the larger size (16.9 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 5 December 2012, lot 139 Price: USD 4,750 or approx. EUR 6,100 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: An Egyptian faience shabti for Djehuty-Mose-Imy-Shenyt-Khnum, Ptolemaic period, 304-30 BC Expert remark: Compare the closely related turquoise-blue faience medium, mummiform pose, tripartite wig, crossed arms, integral plinth and back pillar, and hieroglyphic inscription. Note the slightly larger size (16.5 cm).