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Shabtis of the Overseer of the Antechamber, Horiraa
Courtesy of the Georges Ricard Foundation and the California Institute of World Archaeology

90-Shabti of the Overseer of the Antechamber, Horiraa

Title Shabti of the Overseer of the Antechamber, Horiraa
Era Egyptian, Late Period, Dynasty 26, 664–525 BCE
Medium Faience
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.585

This pale gray-green faience shabti belonged to a man called Horiraa, the Overseer of the Antechamber, who lived in Dynasty 26 during the reigns of Kings Necho II and Psamtik II (ca. 610–589 BCE).1 In his role, he was responsible for educating the royal children of Necho II and Psamtik II, and possibly even those of King Apries.2 Horiraa was a respected member of the elite and the royal court. Psamtik II gave Horiraa the significant honor of a “good name,” Neferibranefer. A good name was an additional name that incorporated part of the king’s throne name.3 Horiraa’s tomb was found intact on the southeast side of the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, in Tomb LS 23. Approximately four hundred shabtis were discovered in two chests there.4

The shabti is mummiform and wears a plain Saite lappet wig and beard.5 His hands protrude through the mummy wrappings and grasp a hoe. In the right hand, Horiraa holds a rope over his shoulder secured to a small bag. He has a back pillar, a standard feature on shabtis from Dynasty 26 to the Ptolemaic period.6 The shabti spell is incised in a neat hand without horizontal guidelines to differentiate the rows.

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Bibliography

Janes 2016
Janes, G. 2016. The Shabti Collections: 6. A Selection from World Museum, Liverpool. Lymm: Olicar House.
Meulenaere 1966
Meulenaere, Herman de. 1966. Le Surnom Egyptien a la Basse Epoque. Istanbul: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut in het Nabije Oosten.
Oostenrijk 2012
Oostenrijk, Jurgen van. 2012. “Individuality versus uniformity: twenty-sixth dynasty shabti groups from Saqqara.” Saqqara Newsletter 10: 58-61.
Porter and Moss 1974
Porter, B., and R.L.B. Moss. 1974. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings. Vol. 3, Part II. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Stewart 1995
Stewart, H.M. 1995. Egyptian Shabtis. Shire Egyptology 23. Princes Risborough: Shire Publications. https://catalog.lib.uchicago.edu/vufind/Alphabrowse/Home?source=series&from=Ägyptologische+Abhandlungen
Shabtis of the Overseer of the Antechamber, Horiraa
Courtesy of the Georges Ricard Foundation and the California Institute of World Archaeology