Workers for the afterlife
The world of the dead involved compulsory labour in the afterlife. Many Egyptians avoided this work by including shabtis in their tombs. Shabtis were small funerary statuettes inscribed with a spell that miraculously brought them to life, enabling the dead person to relax while the shabtis performed their physical duties. From about 1000 BCE the custom among the wealthy was to have one shabti for every day of the year.
Shabtis
Shabtis have a long history as funerary items for tombs. They first appeared in the Middle Kingdom about 2100 BCE, replacing the servant statuettes that were common in tombs of the Old Kingdom. They varied a great deal in style and were made from a variety of materials throughout their history. This reflected changing fashion but also the evolving purpose of these pieces.
