Hi Propraetorius,
"
Personally, I don't think it is ancient. One does not see that many air holes in ancient
Egyptian faience or "composition". The size is tiny, most "finger"
shabti are around 60 to 65 mm in height. I have never seen a real one with a hole in the
head. If it is real, it should date from
Ptolemaic to
Roman times. There were times when it was considered prudent to have a different
shabti for each day of the year. 365 beautiful
shabti would cost a fortune, so little ones "finger size" were mass produced.
Traditionally, Chapter 6 from the Book of the Dead was the spell associated with
shabti, and over the years various abbreviated forms of it were used. Some
shabti have beards and some do not. Perhaps 60% have beards. I don't know the significance of the absence of a beard; perhaps, those for women do not have beards?
Russ
