Shabti box

Shabti box
This colourful painted box was intended for the storage of shabti figures or of other funerary gifts. Its shape imitates a silo with three vaults as its roof and highly raised side walls. The four sides are decorated with painted scenes. The front and back carry scenes of the adoration of Osiris by the tomb owner, one of the lateral sides depicts two of the sons of Horus, Hepi and Amset, and the other side has an image of the tree goddess who provides for the soul... of the deceased. The soul is depicted as a bird with a human head and arms. Note the charming detail of the two grasshoppers in the tree. From the perspective of cultural history, it is interesting to note that the inscriptions on the box were obviously not understood by the painter.

Present location KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM [09/001] VIENNA
Inventory number 960
Dating 21ST DYNASTY
Archaeological Site UNKNOWN
Category SHABTI BOX
Material WOOD
Technique PAINTED
Height 34 cm
Width 30 cm
Depth 17 cm
Bibliography•Katalog "Götter, Gräber und die Kunst. 4000 Jahre Jenseitsglaube", Linz (1989) Nr. 198.
•Satzinger, H., Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. museum (1987) 101.
•Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM), Wien. Führer durch die Sammlungen (1988) 56.
•Seipel, W. (ed.), Götter Menschen Pharaonen, Speyer (1993) = Dioses, Hombres, Faraones, Ciudad de México (1993) = Das Vermächtnis der Pharaonen, Zürich (1994).
•Satzinger, H., Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien. Die Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung. Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie 14. Mainz. 1994.
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