engleski

Shabtis from Late and Graeco-Roman periods: Proposal for the classification (typology) of shabtis discovered outside Egypt

Ancient Egyptian shabtis were usually produced from the First Intermediate period until the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Their shapes, forms, texts and position of agricultural implements changed during the history of pharaonic Egypt. These changes were classified in various typologies during 20th century (Speleers (1923), Petrie (1935), Monnet Saleh (1970), Aubert (1974), Schneider (1977), and Stewart (1995)), but chronologically only until the end of the Late period (30th dynasty). By the time of the Ptolemaic dynasty their main role almost disappeared. Since the early First Millennium B.C. they became part of the typical merchant goods which were traded outside Egypt. During the Graeco-Roman period they became one of the symbols of Isaic cults which diffused around the Mediterranean world and later during the Roman Empire to its northern limes and beyond. Shabtis were manufactured in Egypt, but it seems they were also produced in various workshops outside Egypt during the Graeco-Roman period. During these periods shabtis changed their appearance and became commonly classified as “fakes” by various Egyptologists. For all these reasons these types of shabtis deserve to be re-interpreted and re-classified. In this paper the author will propose the first classification of shabtis dated to the Late and the Graeco-Roman periods which were discovered outside Egypt.

shabtis, typology (classification), Late period, Graeco-Roman period

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