85-Shabti of the Fan Bearer of the Lord of Two Lands, Nebiry

This limestone shabti belonged to the “Fan Bearer of the Lord of Two Lands, Nebiry.” This important court title first appeared in Dynasty 18 and was last seen in Ramesses III’s reign. Based on the title, the owner lived sometime between Dynasties 18–20, likely Dynasty 19.¹ At some point, the shabti was broken and repaired across the name, which can be reconstructed as Nebiry.

Nebiry wears a deeply striated lappet wig with blue pigment delineating the stripes. His face is carefully modeled, and his ears protrude from his wig. Beneath the lappets is an elaborate broad collar worn around his neck, rendered in relief and painted red. His hands protrude from the mummy wrappings, each grasping a hoe. On his back is an animal pelt with four carefully modeled paws and relief straps over it. A seed bag, yoke, or brick mold would be expected on the back of a shabti of this period. However, there is no comparable shabti wearing this pelt, although a similar panther’s pelt is worn by a few grain-milling figures.² Milling figures appear in late Dynasty 18 and portray the individual as a personal attendant to the gods. These figures share some similarities in their conception with this shabti.³ Pelts are also associated with some roles, such as sem-priests, but the title “Fan Bearer of the King” is not known to be connected to specific animal pelts.

EW

1. Pomorska 1987, 34. ↩︎

2. Schneider 1977a, 216–217, Louvre N792 and Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek A15 AEIN 1548. ↩︎

3. Schneider 1977a, 293. ↩︎