Ushabti for Semataui in turquoise faience. 27th-30th Dynasty. 554-332 B.C.

A large Ushabti of the Sameref priest Semataui, commander of the troops, mummiform, holding a pick and hoe in crossed opposite hands, wearing a striped tripartite wig and pharaonic beard, in turquoise faience with ten horizontal lines of hieroglyphic text on the body.

Sameref ("the son whom he loves") is a priestly title connected with the necropolis of Heracleopolis Magna.

The personal name Semataui also indicates that the bearer of this name once lived in Heracleopolis, because Semataui , "he who unifies the two lands", was a falcon headed deity which was worshipped there.

The inscription reads as follows :

(Line 1) Illuminating of the Osiris , the Sameref priest , commander of the troop, son of Sheri, born of Tashepset

(Line 2) Herti, he says : "Oh, these shabtis, if one counts"

(Line 3) the Osiris Semataui to do the work there in the necropolis ..

The text continues with the standard Ushabti spell.

27th -30th Dynasty, 554-332 B.C.

Provenance : art & antique trade (NL) ; English collection A.B. before 1980.

In excellent condition. Presented on a modern stand.