Ushebti for Horiraa. Ancient Egypt, Dynasty XXVI, reign of Necho II, 610-595 BC.

Ushebti for Horiraa. Ancient Egypt, Dynasty XXVI, reign of Necao II, 610-595 BC.
Fayenza.
Provenance: Private collection in the South of France. From the collection of an expert in archaeology, formed between the 60s and 90s.
Good state of preservation, only shows a blow on the terminal of the beard and a small restoration on the back right side of the base, the rest intact.
Measurements: 17,5 cm high.

Ushebti for Horiraa, an eminent figure in the royal court who distinguished himself as tutor of the sons of (Nekau, Neku) Necao II, and therefore was tutor of the next pharaoh, Psametic II. As a reward for services rendered to the royal family, he obtained during the reign of Apries (successor of Psametic II) the possibility of being buried with a quantity of grave goods befitting a king. His tomb was found in the necropolis of Memphis in Saqqara (LS23) and consists of two chambers accessible through a well.

The ushebtis are small statuettes that were deposited in the tombs as part of the grave goods of the deceased. The oldest preserved specimens come from the Middle Empire, although we already find references to them in texts from the end of the Ancient Empire. Throughout time they always maintained the same function in the religious sphere but, while during the Middle Empire they were conceived as the representation of their owner before Osiris in the tasks of farming in the kingdom of the shadows, replicas of the deceased, from the New Empire onwards they came to be seen as servants or slaves of the deceased, being made in large quantities.