Ushabti of Tutankhamun

This gilded ushabti is an image of the young king Tutankhamun wearing the Blue Khepresh Crown of ceremonies and processions and the uraeus. It is adorned with a broad collar cut in gold leaf and the two insignia of Osiris.

The ushabtis, or funerary figures were intended to perform work in the place of the deceased in the afterlife. They were usually made of faience, wood, or pottery and were various sizes. They were divided according to their functions and to the Egyptian calendar as follows: 365 workmen, each for one day of the year, and 36 overseers, each as a chief of a week of ten days or ten workers.

In the tomb of Tutankhamun, 12 supplementary foremen were added, one for each month, totaling 413. The Griffith Institute hosts the Howard Carter archives, which possess a thorough analysis of the complete collection, made by Howard Carter with photographs by Harry Burton.

Related: Mask of Tutankhamun

The ushabtis comprise around ten percent of the assemblage of artifacts in the tomb. Many of them are almost identical to one another. Most were found in groupings inside wooden boxes, with some wrapped in linen.

From the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.