Ushabti of Ptahmes

Ptahmes wears a tripartite wig which was painted black. The face is painted red and has clearly delineated features, including ears, nose, mouth and eyes. The eyes are outlined in black paint. There is no beard. The arms are shown bent at the elbows and held across the belly. The hands are shown in fists crossed opposite each other below the wig lappets. It is noteworthy that the figure does not carry tools, which is characteristic for shabtis of the 18th and 19th Dynasties. The feet of the figure are roughly indicated, and there is no plinth.

The lower part of the figure is covered by five horizontal lines of text which continues down a vertical column on the back of the figure. There are traces of red paint in the lines separating the registers, and traces of black paint in the actual glyphs.

Ushabti of Ptahmes. Dimensions: 19.05 × 7 × 4.5 cm
Royal Ontario Museum, Canada. 910.23.21

The text reads: “Illuminate the Osiris Ptahmes. May he say O this shabti, if one counts, if one counts to act, to do all the works which are done in the necropolis by a man at his duty, cultivating the fields, and irrigating the river banks thereof. Here is the Osiris…”

The name of the deceased at the end has been thoroughly erased. In the first line, the glyphs of the man’s name look rubbed out, but their shape is still visible.