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The Materiality of Shabtis: Figurines over Four Millennia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2019

Kathryn E. Howley Open the ORCID record for Kathryn E. Howley [Opens in a new window]
Kathryn E. Howley*
Affiliation:
Institute of Fine Arts, NYU The James B. Duke House, 1 East 78th Street, New York, NY10075, USA Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Miniature human figurines have inspired many theoretical advances in archaeological literature, centred around universal human reactions to the material affect of their form. However, confirmation that ancient audiences had such reactions to figurines can be difficult to access in the archaeological record. Egyptian shabtis, a type of funerary figurine, allow such reactions to be accessed by the archaeologist due to their widespread use throughout a long period of Egyptian history and their continuing popularity in other cultures since ancient times: evidence consists of a broad range of textual, artistic and archaeological data from many different cultures over a period of roughly 4000 years. This evidence confirms not only that ancient Egyptian craftsmen responded to and sought to maximize the material affect of the shabtis, but that a significant part of the human response to miniature human figurines is indeed conditioned by their material qualities, independent of the figurines’ original religious function and the cultural background of the viewer.

Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 123 - 140
Copyright
Copyright © McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 2019

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