Tutankhaman and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs

Wooden Shabti of Tutankhamun

This carved and painted figure is one of the largest and most detailed shabtis, or funerary figures, found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Recognizable features, such as the painted eyes and eyebrows, indicate that this figure may have been of the king. Other features though, such as the Nubian wig, the cobra and vulture, and the gold collar and bracelets, are more symbolic of the Afterlife. The empty hands may have once held the crook and flail.

Shabti figures were found inside the innermost part of the mummy’s tomb and vary in size and material. The largest shabtis were made of wood and others were made of faience, limestone, or semiprecious stone. Four hundred and thirteen figures were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun–three hundred and sixty five for each day of the year and forty eight to oversee the workers in the afterlife. A spell from the Book of the Dead is carved in hieroglyphs along the body of this figure, promising that this shabti will work on behalf of King Tutankhamun in the Afterlife.

Wooden Shabti of Tutankhamun
Wood, gold, paint and copper alloy
Dynasty 18, reign of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.)
Thebes, Valley of the Kings, tomb of Tutankhamun (no. 62)