This ushabti (or “answerer”) is identified by inscription as belonging to Wab priest of the King, Royal Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Administrator of the Palace, son of Schepen-Bastet.  He holds the hoe, pick, and seed-sack that are standard accoutrements of such figures.  He wears a braided beard and striated tripartite wig and his finely modeled face has the eyebrows and cosmetic lines in relief.  Eight lines of inscription grace the Osiride mummiform body. The ushabtis of Neferibresaneith are among the most beautiful ones of the Late Period.

As early as the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians developed a special type of self-glazing ceramic called faience (tjehnet, the Egyptian word for brilliant).  Composed of quartz, an alkali, lime, and ground copper, faience was a malleable material that could be molded or modeled.  It was dull and colorless before being fired, but emerged from the kiln glazed and glorious.  This transformation imbued it with magical properties.  Although shades of blue and green are most identified with faience, it could be produced in a much wider array of hues, including white, yellow, red, and brown.   

26th Dynasty, Reign of Amasis, 570-526 B.C.
H: 7 in. (17.8 cm.)
Provenance: Ex Frits Philips, acquired in the 1940's, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. By descent to former owner.