Moniform ushabti for Isethy; Egypt, Dynasty XXI

Moniform Ushebti for Isethy; Egypt, 21st Dynasty, 1069-945 BC.
Fayenza.
It is in a good state of preservation.
Measurements: 15 x 5 x 3 cm; 20 cm (height, base).
Usehenti representing Isethy, priest of Amun in the 21st Dynasty. The ushebti figurine is made of Egyptian green faience, and takes the figurative form of a labourer holding two hoes to cultivate the fields of Osiris in the afterlife, and this idea is further reinforced by the representation of the bag of seeds on his back. The figurine is dressed in a wig typical of these representations. Only his hands, crossed over his chest, protrude from the mummy-like covering that covers his entire body. The body is inscribed with a vertical column of hieroglyphs, alluding to Chapter IV of the Book of the Dead, which contains various spells intended to help the deceased in his passage towards death, and thus overcome the judgement of Osiris.
Ushebtis are small statuettes that were placed in tombs as part of the grave goods of the deceased. The oldest surviving examples come from the Middle Kingdom, although references to them can be found in texts from the end of the Old Kingdom. Throughout the ages they always maintained the same function in the religious sphere, but, while during the Middle Empire they were conceived as representing their owner before Osiris in the tasks of tilling the kingdom of the shadows, replicas of the deceased, from the New Empire onwards they came to be seen as servants or slaves of the deceased, and were produced in large quantities.