Shabtis are small mummiform figurines placed in tombs to assist the deceased in the Afterworld with corvée labour, as detailed in Spell 6 of The Book of the Dead. In the 3rd Intermediate Period it became common for tomb owners to be provided with a shabti for every day of the year. These would be organized into groups of ten workers, each under the control of an officer, or overseer. This is a worker shabti. The rather careleesly modelled figure wears a tripartite wig. The lower part of the face is abraded, but the eyes and eyebrows have been outlined in black paint. The arms are represented as crossed over the chest with the elbows markedly lower than the fists. A hoe for each hand has been added and a square basket is depicted on the back of the figure hanging from the shoulders. These implements are rather carelessly drawn with black paint; they were meant for agricultural labour in the Afterlife. A single framed column of nicely spaced glyphs decorated the front of the figure from waist to feet. The text reads: The Osiris Ankh, justified. (S.B. Shubert)
