Three Shabtis of the Vizier Paser (UC39724-39726)

Ahmed M. Mekawy Ouda

Abstract

This paper publishes three shabti figures of the vizier Paser held in the Petrie Museum of the Egyp-
tian Archaeology (UC39724-39726), together with another nineteen shabtis which are dispersed in
four Museums (Egyptian Museum Berlin, Louvre Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Penn
Museum). It presents a set of criteria by which to distinguish the shabtis of the vizier Paser from
those of other individuals who have the same name. It also investigates the archaeological context
of these three shabtis missing from Petrie’s publication in 1935 and, using these parallels, attempts
to identify their provenance. The function of the shabtis of the vizier Paser is also examined.

This paper republishes three funerary statuettes at the Petrie Museum of the Egyptian Archaeology
(UC39724-39726).1 Although Petrie published these statuettes,2 the archaeological context was ignored
as he classified the entire collection of 650 shabtis at the Petrie Museum according to typology. More-
over, the shabtis in the collection are not necessarily from his excavations; he reported that he bought
about forty in Thebes.3 The forty that were bought are made of wood and dated to the late Seventeenth
and early Eighteenth Dynasty.4 Petrie listed three funerary statuettes of Paser under the heading “trans-
literation of names of ushabtis at University College” and dated them to the Nineteenth Dynasty.5 I aim
to reconstruct this archaeological context, looking for the provenance of these three statuettes and their
funerary function. The two titles of Paser shown on the shabtis, imy-rA niwt “overseer of the city” and
TAty “vizier,” are the essential identifiers for this reconstruction, along with his other shabtis which are
scattered in different museums.

1
I would like to thank S. Quirke and A. Stevenson, the curators of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, for permission to
publish the shabtis of Paser. Thanks also go to my colleagues J-l. Bovot, C. Bridonneau, and A. Viger of the Louvre Museum for their help
with the photographs, information, and permission to publish the collection of the shabtis of Paser there. I am also grateful to my colleagues
J. Moje and O. Zorn for the photographs and information on the shabti of Paser at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. Special thanks go to
J. Wegner, associate curator of the Pennsylvania Museum, for help with the photographs. Sincere gratitude goes to J. Picton for
the correction of my English and to the anonymous reviewers for their comments.
2
W. Petrie, Shabtis, illustrated by the Collection in University College, London. With a catalogue of figures from many other sources
(London, 1935), 14, pls. 9, 30 [93–95]); see also V. Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,” JEA 74 (1988), 110 [25–26]; KRI III, 36 (50b); C.
Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’II: Netzwerke der Macht,” in R. Gundlach and A. Klug, eds., Das ägyptische Königtum im Spannungs-
feld zwischen Innen- und Aussenpolitik im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr (Wiesbaden, 2004), 331–32 [Q 4.93–94].
3
Petrie, Shabtis, 3.
4
Petrie, Shabtis, 3–4; P. Whelan, Mere Scraps of Rough Wood? 17th–18th Dynasty Stick Shabtis in the Petrie Museum and Other Col-
lections (London, 2007), 53–122.
5
Petrie, Shabtis, 14, pls. 9, 30 [93–95].

Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 52 (2016), 303–320

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5913/jarce.52.2016.a017 303
304 JARCE 52 (2016)

UC39724

This figure is made of glazed blue faience. Its dimensions are H. 2.50 cm and W. 2.80 cm. It shows the
deceased wrapped in mummy bandages,6 with tripartite wig (fig. 1).7 The hands are crossed right over
left,8 holding a hoe in each hand—these are engraved on the shoulders, and not painted.9 The face is
square and the cheeks are high. He has big ears and a broad nose. The lower part of this shabti is lost
below the hips. However, there are remains of a horizontal and incised hieroglyphic inscription. It is
filled with white plaster and reads:

sHD Wsir TAty PA-sr [mAa-xrw]

The illuminated one,10 Osiris, the vizier, Paser, [justified].

On the back of the statue, there is a vertical panel of hieroglyphic inscription. It forms the last section
of the shabti formula.11 This inscription reads:

iry. (i) m[k] [wi]

I shall do it, here [I am].

UC39725

This shabti is made of blue glazed faience with black painted detail, and is in a stable condition, but
lacking the feet (fig. 2). Its dimensions are H. 7.7 cm and W. 2.9 cm. The figure is mummiform with long
tripartite wig with painted striations12 and a large painted broad collar, holding hoes which are painted
on the shoulders of the shabti rather than moulded.13 The facial details are poorly defined. The face is
round with high cheeks, thin lips and big ears. The lips, eyes, and brows are added in black. His hands
are crossed, though they are invisible below the dress.14 There is a bag slung over the left shoulder.15
There are four horizontal lines of hieroglyphic inscriptions, running from right to left. They contain
the shabti formula designed to help the deceased avoid menial labour.16 The inscription reads:

6
Cf. H. Schneider, Shabtis: An Introduction to the History of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Statuettes with a Catalogue of the Collection
of Shabtis in the National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden, I (Leiden, 1977), 160–61.
7
Schneider, Shabtis I, 165, fig. 11 [5].
8
Schneider, Shabtis I, 167.
9
The first examples of the shabtis grasping hoes and carrying baskets date from the reign of Thuthmose IV and Amenhotep
III: Schneider, Shabtis I, 168.
10
Cf. P. Watson, Catalogue of Inscribed Shabtis in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Birmingham, 2012), 6 [6]. The combina-
tion between sHD and Wsir became established formula at the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty: Schneider, Shabtis I, 131.
11
Cf. for example: Schneider, Shabtis II, 92 [3.2.1.1], 93 [3.2.1.46]; S. Quirke, Going Out in Daylight – prt m hrw; The Ancient
Egyptian Book of the Dead (London, 2013), 22 [chap. 6].
12
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [22].
13
Schneider, Shabtis I, 168, 175–176.
14
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis I, 167.
15
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis I, 171; Petrie, Shabtis, pl. 31 [113].
16
Schneider, Shabtis I, 45.
 MEKAWY OUDA 305

sHD Wsir TAty PA-sr mAa-xrw

Dd.f i SAbty(w) ipn ir17 Hsb.t(w)
Wsir18 TAty PA-sr mAa-xrw r irt
kA(w)t [nb](wt) irr(wt) [im] m [Xrt-nTr]
The illuminated one, Osiris, the vizier, Paser, justified
He speaks: “O these shabtis,19 if one summons20
Osiris, the vizier, Paser, justified, to do
All the works which are wont to be done [there] in [the necropolis].”21

UC39726

This middle fragment of a shabti is made of blue glazed faience, the top and the lower part are missing
(fig. 3). Its height is 4 cm and width is 2.7 cm. Three horizontal lines of hieroglyphic inscriptions are
preserved, with traces of a fourth, painted in black, running from right to left. They contain the shabti
formula which reads:22

sHD Wsir imy-rA niwt TAty PA-sr mAa-xrw m Htp

Dd.f i SAbty(w) ipn ir Hsb.(tw)23
Wsir TAty PA-sr r irt kAt nb(t)

17
Kitchen (KRI III. 36, [7]) relying on Petrie (Petrie, Shabtis, pl. 9 [94]) has p instead of r, though study of the shabti confirms
that it is r.
18
It is not clear whether the vertical sign that precedes the name of Osiris represents ti (Gardiner, EG, sign-list U33) or a throw
stick (sign-list T14). However, a shabti of Paser at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin 367 has ti before Osiris (ÄIB II, 589 [line 3]).
19
The shabtis can be called SAbtyw, SAbty, SAwAbty, and wSbty (Schneider, Shabtis I, 135). From the Second Intermediate period
to the Late period, it was a custom to write the word SAbty in the singular form, but the plural demonstrative pronoun indicates
that it should be taken as a plural (Schneider, Shabtis I ,137).
20
Raedler (“Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 332) reads this sign as ip, though it should be read Hsb (sign-list Aa 2 [2]).
21
Schneider, Shabtis I, 142.
22
Raedler (Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 332 [Q-94]) thought that the inscriptions on this shabti are similar to those on
the shabti UC39725, though there is a difference. However, although Kitchen shows some of the variations, he did not notice
others (KRI III. 36 [7–8], 7a-b]).
23
Kitchen (KRI III. 36, [7b]), coping from Petrie (Petrie, Shabtis, pl. 9 [95]), applied t instead of the sign of the “book-roll”
(Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, sign-list Y1); cf. also Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 4 [P, sm].
306 JARCE 52 (2016)

The illuminated one, Osiris, overseer of the town,24 the vizier, Paser, justified in peace25
He speaks: “O these shabtis, if one summons
Osiris, the vizier, Paser, to do any work.”

Discussion

These three shabtis in the Petrie Museum for this important vizier, Paser, contemporary of Seti I and
Ramesses II, are different, although they belong to the same person. UC39725 and 39726 can be
grouped together while UC39724 is different from these. The pose of the hands differs from UC39724
to UC39725. It is visible and the right hand is crossed over left in the first while it is invisible in the lat-
ter. The wig differs as well, although it is a tripartite wig on both. UC39724 has plain unmarked hair,
while UC39725 has worked hair, i.e., the striations representing the hair are indicated; this is similar to
the shabti of MMA 22.2.29 below. Although the wig of the shabti UC39726 is lost, stylistically it should
be the same as UC39725, as both are glazed faience and the inscriptions are painted in black on them.
The hoes are modelled on UC39724, while they are painted on UC39725—and probably UC39726. The
inscriptions on UC39724 are incised and filled with white plaster, while they are painted on UC39725-
26. The representation of the facial features differs from UC39724 to UC39725 as well. The way of
painting or engraving the implements, and painting the wig or leaving it unmarked, shows that these
shabtis were probably made by different craftsmen.
Early publications, which came after Petrie’s Shabtis, overlooked UC3972426 and another shabti
for the vizier Paser in the Pennsylvania Museum E17679 (see below), while Donohue, 27followed by
Raedler,28 identified two unprovenanced shabtis at the Petrie Museum (UC39702–03) inscribed for the
“first god’s servant of Amun” as the same Paser (figs. 4–5).29 Aubert and Aubert did not agree with the
latter point of view, arguing that we should not confuse this latter Paser with our vizier Paser, whose
shabtis were found at the Serapeum (see below).30 On stylistic and material grounds, the shabtis of the
vizier Paser are different from the shabtis of the “first god’s servant of Amun” (figs. 4–5), although
both have the shabti formula of chapter six of the Book of the Dead.31 UC39702 and UC39703 are both
made of fired clay; UC39702 is complete (H. 19.3 cm), wearing a broad collar and with modelled hoes
on the shoulders. The long tripartite wig has well-marked striations on the front of the lappets and an
unmarked back unlike the three shabtis of the vizier Paser.32 UC39703 appears very similar in style but
the head and feet are missing. The hieroglyphic inscriptions on both are incised. Paser, “the first god’s
servant of Amun,” is also known from a shabti at Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (A 82: 3)33
and a naophoric statue at the Cairo Museum (CG 42156), found in the Karnak cachette.34 The name
of Ramesses II is engraved on the naos, on which the ram head rests, and on the left shoulder of the

24
Kitchen (KRI III. 36, [7a-b]) did not observe this title in his reference to the difference between the inscriptions of this
shabti and UC39725. It seems that he relied on Petrie’s summary (Petrie, Shabtis, pl. 9 [95]) which does not note this difference
between the two shabtis.
25
Cf. the statuette of Wesermontu UC39761: Petrie, Shabtis, pl. 10 [162 G]); KRI III, 36 [7a].
26
Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,” 110; Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 331–332; KRI III. 36 (50b), 293.
27
Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,” 110 [27–28]; Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 332 [Q-4.95–96].
28
Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 332 [Q-4.95–96].
29
Petrie, Shabtis, 14; J-F. Aubert, and L. Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes Chaouabtis, Ouchebtis (Paris, 1974), 92–93.
30
Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes Chaouabtis, 92. Aubert placed “a first god’s servant of Amun,” Bakenkhonsu II, between Paser
“the vizier” and Paser, “the first god’s servant of Amun”: Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes Chaouabtis, 92–94.
31
KRI III. 293 [8–9]; Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 332 [Q -4.95–96].
32
The type of this wig was not listed in the study of Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11.
33
It is made of fired clay (H. 18.5 cm W. 5.7 cm) and incised with the shabtis formula on its front while its back is blank: B.
Schlick-Nolte, Museen der Rhein-Main-Region. Lose-Blatt-Katalog ägyptischer Altertümer. Lieferung 2. Uschebtis, Teil I; aus den Sam-
mlungen Hessisches Landesmuseum … Städtische Galerie-Liebieghaus … Prinz Johann Georg-Sammlung … Römisch-G. Zentral-
museum Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum (Mainz am Rhein, 1984), 1/3–2/3 (A 82: 3).
34
KRI III, 292 [11–12]; PM II, 145.
 MEKAWY OUDA 307

owner.35 Four titles are indicated on this statue (r-pat HAty-a imy-rA Hmw-nTr n nTrw nbw Hm-nTr tpy n Imn).36
It seems that Hm-nTr tpy n Imn is his main title. There is nothing on the statue to indicate the affiliation
of the owner, or his family members. This Paser is different from our vizier in the absence of the title of
“first god’s servant of Amun” from all the inscriptions in his tomb (TT106) and on other monuments.37
The three shabtis of the vizier Paser can be compared with a very fine shabti with the same name
and titles in the Metropolitan Museum, MMA 22.2.29 (fig. 6).38 The dimensions of this shabti are H. 15
cm W. 4.9 cm. Paser bears one of his two main titles, the vizier.39 This highly glazed blue faience shabti
with fine black-painted detail is inscribed with six horizontal lines from chapter six of the Book of the
Dead (sHD wsir mAa-xrw TAty PA-sr Dd.f i SAbty(w) ipn ir Hsb.tw r irt kAt nbt irw m Xrt-nTr…).40 On the back,
there is a central vertical panel of hieroglyphs running from below the wig which include his title, vizier,
and his name. Paser is presented in a mummiform pose with crossed arms, carrying a hoe and basket
in each hand, the baskets lie over his shoulders. He wears a long striped tripartite wig,41 a large broad
collar and a “lily-petal” garland. The long garland lies over his crossed arms which is an indicator for
a Ramesside dating.42 His facial details are more clearly marked than on the shabtis previously consid-
ered. The face is round with high cheeks and thin lips. The large eyes and brows are marked in black
with the cosmetic line extended beneath his brows. Each ear has a hole painted as if to take earrings.
The museum catalogue records that this shabti was purchased in Luxor from Yusef Hassan in 1922.43
This supports Hayes’ assertion44 that this shabti came from the tomb of the vizier Paser at Sheikh abd
el-Qurnah (TT106), West Thebes,45 and may help in restoring the archaeological context of the three
shabtis in the Petrie Museum.
Egyptian Museum Berlin 367 is a fifth shabti for the vizier Paser, made of glazed blue faience but the
surface color is mostly lost (fig. 7).46 It should be grouped with the three shabtis in the Petrie Museum
and the one from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The shabti is 8.4 cm high and 2.7 cm wide. The
deceased is represented in mummy form with the hands crossed right over left holding two hoes. He
has a round face with broad nose and high cheeks. His eyes, brows and thin mouth are painted in black

35
This indicates that he was contemporary to Ramesses II, while the vizier Paser is contemporary to both, Seti I and Ramesses
II: X. Li, “Connecting Past and Future: Analysis of the Wall Decoration in the Tomb of the Vizier Paser,” Journal of Ancient Civi-
lizations 27 (2012), 61.
36
KRI III, 293 [3–5].
37
KRI I, 286–87, 289–90, 292–95, 297–301: III, 1–7, 9–29, 32–36; Li, “Connecting Past and Future,” 80–84; Porter and Moss
(PM II, 145) suggested that Paser “first god’s servant of Amun” is different from the vizier Paser. Kitchen wondered whether the
Paser, who bore the title, “first god’s servant of Amun” on shabtis (UC39702-703), which are kept at the Petrie Museum (KRI III,
293 [8–9]), was the same as our Paser. Petrie gave different numbers to the two persons: Petrie, Shabtis, 14 [61–62], pls. 9, 17, 30.
The website of the Karnak cachette lists that this statue is for the vizier Paser, son of Nebneteru and Merytre: http://www.ifao.
egnet.net/bases/cachette/?&os=304 (access February 2016).
38
Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,” 110 29]; Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 332 [Q4.97]; W. Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt: A
Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, II, (New York, 1959), 333.
39
Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 332 [Q4.97], listed seven titles for Paser on this shabti, probably relying on Hayes, who
listed all of Paser’s titles on his different objects at the MMA (Hayes, Scepter II, 333–34).
40
I read the sequence of clauses according to the on-line images which are on the MMA website.
41
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [22].
42
A. Niwinski, 21st Dynasty Coffins from Thebes; chronological and typological studies, Theben 5 (Mainz am Rhein, 1988), 12, fig.
10.
43
http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/549245 (accessed July 2016): the museum acquired this shabti from the
Rogers Fund in 1922.
44
Hayes, Scepter of Egypt II, 333; Aubert and Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes Chaouabtis, 95.
45
PM I, 219–24 [106]; Li, “Connecting Past and Future,” 61–98; G. Marohn, “Ein wiedergefundenes Relieffragment aus dem
Grab des Veziers Paser (TT 106),” GM 149 (1995), 63–66; S. Hodjash, “Zwei Gegenstände aus dem Grabinventar des Wesirs
Paser,” in E. Freier and W. Reineke, eds., Karl Richard Lepsius (1810–1884): Akten der Tagung anlässlich seines 100. Todestages,
10.–12.7.1984 in Halle (Berlin, 1988), 314–16.
46
ÄIB II, 589; Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,” 110 [24]; KRI III, 36 [50 A]; all of the shabtis at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin
are in preparation to be published in: J. Moje, Schabtis und verwandte Figurinen. Mit den Beständen der Antikensammlung und des
Museums für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (CAA Ägyptisches Museum & Papyrussammlung Berlin SMB-SPK).
308 JARCE 52 (2016)

and he wears a tripartite wig and broad collar.47 The basket is on his back, underneath the wig, painted
in black. There are four lines of hieroglyphic inscriptions in a poor condition, reading from the left side
of the shabti, containing the shabti formula (sHD Wsir imy-rA niwt TAty PA-sr Dd.f i wSAbtyw Wsir TAty? ipn ir
Hsb.tw Wsir pA-sr r irt kAt nb m Xrt-nTr).48 Paser holds the same titles, the overseer of the city and the vizier.49
The provenance of this shabti is unknown.50
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology keeps a sixth shabti
E17679 for a Paser (fig. 8), who holds the title of vizier on the front and the two titles, overseer of the
city and vizier, on the back. It is a mummiform shabti and is made of green faience, the color is almost
lost. The facial features are poorly defined. The face is round with broad nose and small thin mouth.
He wears a well-defined tripartite wig and a broad collar,51 holding a hoe on each shoulder. The hoes are
engraved. There is a basket on the back of his left shoulder.52 Unlike the other shabtis, this figure has a
central vertical panel of hieroglyphs below the arms, containing his title, vizier, and name, with three
lines of incised hieroglyphs running horizontally from the true right of the central panel around the
figure. The three lines contain the shabti formula (sHD imy-rA niwt TAty PA-sr mAa-xrw Dd.f ir aS.tw ir Hsb.tw
r irt kAt nb(t) ir m Xrt-nTr…).53 The provenance of this shabti is again unknown and raises the question of
whether this shabti is genuine or a fake, especially as the distribution of the inscriptions on this shabti
differs from all of the other shabtis of Paser.
A potential seventh shabti may be seen in James Quibell’s publication of his work at the Ramesseum
who gives a hieroglyphic index of personal names and titles on Plate V titled “Names on Ushabtiu, etc.”
(without illustrations), which includes a Paser bearing the titles “overseer of the city” and “the vizier.”54
Within the text Quibell refers to cartonnage, shabtis and other objects inscribed with names and titles
so there is no reason to believe that this list refers to shabtis only.55 Aubert,56 and Donohue,57 followed
by Raedler,58 attributed a seventh “shabti” found in the Ramesseum to this same Paser on the basis of
this list, without seeing the object concerned. There is also some concern as to the dating of these ob-
jects.59 I therefore discount this reference as definitely referring to a shabti of our vizier Paser as it may
refer to a different type of object.
The Louvre Museum keeps thirteen shabtis for the vizier Paser (N772 and N773) according to the
museum catalogue.60 These were found in the Serapeum of Saqqara. Eight of these were found in two
niches in the southern wall (vault C, no. 8) inside two pottery shabti boxes which were deposited in

47
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [21].
48
ÄIB II, 589.
49
ÄIB II, 589; Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 332 [Q 4-92].
50
ÄIB II, 589.
51
Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [7].
52
Cf. Petrie, Shabtis, pl. 14 [52].
53
For ir aS.tw ir Hsb.tw see: Watson, Catalogue of Inscribed Shabtis in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 14 [line. 2]; Newberry,
CG 46546, 46549, 46551, 46558, 46562, 46566-46567.
54
Quibell, The Ramesseum, pl. 5 [2nd col, 3].
55
Quibell, The Ramesseum, 9, 12.
56
Aubert and Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes Chaouabtis, 95.
57
Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,” 110 [23].
58
Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II, ” 331 [Q-4.91].
59
Quibell dated these objects to the Twenty-Second Dynasty: Quibell, The Ramesseum, 9ff.
60
Contrary, twenty-two shabtis were attributed to the vizier Paser in the earlier publications: Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,”
109–10 [1–22]; Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 330–31[Q 4.69–4.90]; Aubert and Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes Chaouabtis, 95.
There are two shabtis (AF 11846 and E 925 N 2658) naming Paser, holding the titles of “pure-priest” and “royal scribe” respec-
tively, but they are unprovenanced. This Paser differs from the vizier Paser, as the owner’s wife is represented on N 2658 and
called Rouya, J-L. Bovot, Chaouabtis des travailleurs pharaoniques pour l’éternité (Paris, 2003), 51, 56; idem, “Les Chaouabtis: Une
réponse pratique à une conception étonnante du paradis chez les anciens égyptiens,” Bulletin de l’Association angevine et nantaise
d’égyptologie Isis 6 (1999), 24, 34 fig. 6; J. Berlandini, “Le ‘Double-Chaouabti Gisant’ des princes Ramses et Khaemouaset,” RdE
53 (2002), 34, n. 165. Another three shabtis for a person whose name is Paser, were found in the Serapeum, and made of faience,
but bearing the titles of “great chieftain” on two (N 770 IM 3486 S 1750–N 771 IM 3520) and the “scribe of Re” (N 771 S 1773)
on the third. These have one column of hieroglyphic inscriptions which is engraved on the front of each.
 MEKAWY OUDA 309

the ground. These boxes take the shape of a recumbent jackal on a chapel.61 Paser holds his two main
titles, “the overseer of the city” and “the vizier,” on all of these thirteen shabtis. They contain the shabtis
formula of chapter six of the Book of the Dead. These shabtis could be a donation which was made by
Paser or others to the burial place of the sacred Apis bulls.62 Seven are made of steatite (figs. 9–15), two
of white faience (figs. 16–17), three of green faience (figs. 18–20) and one of diorite (fig. 21). The seven
mummiform shabtis are made of steatite, any glaze is mostly lost. Paser has a round face, full lips, and
broad nose, and large and slightly prominent eyes. The right hand is crossed above the left hand and
adorned with a bracelet. The owner wears a long tripartite wig and a broad collar.63 The hoes are lightly
incised on his shoulders except N 773 S 1428 where they may not have present, or have been eroded (fig.
9). None of the seven shabtis has a basket on the back, although they have the shabti formula. There are
three lines of horizontal hieroglyphic inscriptions, running from right to left on the front of each and a
vertical column on their back. N 773 S 1428 has four horizontal lines of inscriptions on its front (fig. 9).
Two shabtis (N 772-IM 3702, N 772-IM 3703-S1424) which are made of white faience (figs. 16–17),
represent Paser in a mummy form, wearing a tripartite wig and a broad collar.64 He holds the hoes on
his shoulders and a large basket hanging below the wig.65 The facial features are simple. The face is
round. The mouth, the eyes, the eyebrows, and the ears are roughly painted in brown. Kohl surrounds
Paser’s eyes, extending from the outer corner of each eye in a single line, which is parallel to the eye-
brow. The eyebrows are not level with the right eyebrow higher than the left. The two shabtis have four
lines of hieroglyphic inscriptions, running from right to left, containing chapter six of the Book of the
Dead, the shabti formula. The material, the sequence of clauses,66 the broad collar with its four rows,
and the color, which is used for both, indicate that they were made by the same artist, although the dif-
ference is clear in the representation of the baskets on their back, underneath the wig.
As for the other three shabtis, which are made of green faience (figs. 18–20), two are almost similar
(N 773 S1435-N 773 S1436 both badly degraded) while the third differs (N 772 S 1427). The latter has a
mummy form, wearing a tripartite wig and a broad collar of three lines.67 The facial features are poorly
represented. The shabti holds the hoes and a slung basket is on his left shoulder. There are four incised
lines of hieroglyphic inscriptions. The first two shabtis are represented in a mummy form, wearing a
tripartite wig and a broad collar holding the hoes.68 The face is round and the nose is broad. The lips
are thick. The shoulders are broad. There are three lines of engraved hieroglyphic inscriptions on the
front and a vertical panel on the back. It seems that these two shabtis do not have baskets on the back
but it is difficult to tell.
A large very fine diorite shabti for the vizier Paser is kept at the Louvre Museum (A 75, N 76, N 5212,
fig. 21).69 Its provenance is unknown. This shabti differs from all of the former shabtis of the Louvre
Museum in relation to its large size (H. 46.5 cm), the type of material, the presence of a back pillar, the
amulets of a djed pillar and a tit—the Isis knot—held in his crossed hands,70 and the shabti has a short
beard. His facial features are well carved. He has a heart-shaped face with almond-shaped eyes. There is
a smile on his face. He has big ears. The striations of his tripartite wig are neatly engraved.71 A vertical
panel of hieroglyphic inscription is engraved on the front of the statue and another is engraved on the

61
Aubert and Aubert, Statuettes Égyptiennes Chaouabtis, 95; A. Mariette, Le Serapeum de Memphis I (Paris, 1882), 139; P. Pierret,
Musée du Louvre, Catalogue de las salle historique de la galerie égyptienne (Paris, 1873), 38 [174], 40 [196]; Schneider, shabtis I, 297,
282; I. Edwards, “The Shetayet of Rosetau,” in L. Lesko, ed., Egyptological Studies in Honor of Richard A. Parker (London 1986), 31.
62
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis I, 283.
63
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [4–5].
64
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [21].
65
Cf. Schneider, shabtis III, fig. 14 [11].
66
Only the title, “overseer of the city,” was removed from the third line of N 772-IM 3703, compared to N 772-IM 3702.
67
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [21].
68
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [17].
69
Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,” 110 [30]; Bovot, Chaouabtis des travailleurs pharaoniques pour l’ éternité, 37, 51.
70
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 17 [1].
71
Schneider, Shabtis III, fig. 11 [21].
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back pillar, including his two main titles, as overseer of the city and vizier. The back pillar is engraved
on the left and right sides as well.
On the evidence of these parallels, the three shabtis of Paser at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian
Archaeology might be attributed to one of three provenances: Thebes, the Ramesseum, or the Sera-
peum at Saqqara. Like the three Petrie shabtis, Berlin Museum 367, and UPM E 17679 do not have a
provenance. However, the comparison with the other shabtis, which do have a provenance, may solve
this problem. The set of shabtis in the Louvre Museum, found by Mariettte at the Serapeum, were dis-
covered before the arrival of Petrie at Giza for his survey on the great pyramid (1880–1882),72 so the
three Petrie Museum shabtis can not be attributed to the Serapeum if all of the shabtis of Paser from
the Serapeum were sent to the Louvre Museum and no other shabti deposits were found there. Scholars
assumed above that a single shabti for the vizier Paser was found in the Ramesseum, although the Petrie
Museum has three. Only one of them (UC39726) has the same titles, overseer of the city and vizier,
as the believed shabti of the Ramesseum. Alternatively, these three shabtis may have been acquired in
Luxor and may have come from the tomb of the vizier Paser at Sheikh Abd el-Qurnah (TT106), based
on the information which Hayes gave that the shabti of the MMA 22.2.29 came from the tomb of the
vizier Paser (TT106), and particularly given the strong similarity between this and two of the shabtis in
the Petrie Museum.
The archaeological and textual material indicates that the function of the shabtis of Paser is diverse.
Shabtis are generally regarded as a gang of laborers, servants, or slaves who substitute for their owner,
helping him in the afterlife. The ones which were acquired in Luxor and probably found in his tomb,
and the ones which were found in the Serapeum stand for the deceased.73 The habit of placing the
shabtis in divine and sacred landscapes, e.g., Abydos, Buto, Heliopolis, and Ro-setau, was common in
the New Kingdom.74 It was a privilege for someone to be permitted to place a shabti at a sacred space
as was the case with the vizier Paser.75
The family affiliation of Paser can be used to distinguish him from the other individuals who bear
the same name. “The scribe” Paser whose wife was called Rouya is different from the vizier Paser whose
wife is Tiy, “chief of the Harim of Amun.”76 Studying the titles of the vizier Paser in his tomb (TT106)
and on other monuments does not record his main titles, the vizier and overseer of the city, in associ-
ation with the title of “first god’s servant of Amun” anywhere which confirms that the two persons are
different. Finally, the shabtis of Paser reflect his economic status which is attested via his great tomb
on West Bank of Thebes77 and the other objects and monuments which are scattered here and there.78
They were also made of different materials (blue, green and white faience, steatite, and diorite) and of
varying quality.
It can be argued that the shabtis which bear the two titles “vizier” and “overseer of the city” (the
thirteen shabtis of the Louvre Museum, Egyptian Museum Berlin 367, UPM E 17679), or the title “vi-
zier” (MMA 22.2.29), belong to the same person whose three shabtis are kept at the Petrie Museum of
Egyptian Archaeology (UC39724-39726) and hold the titles “vizier” and “overseer of the city,” and all of
which share the same shabti formula.

Cairo University

72
M. Dower, Flinders Petrie, a life in Archaeology (London, 1985), 34ff; S. Quirke, Hidden Hands: Egyptian workforces in Petrie
Excavation Archives 1880–1924 (London, 2010), 20ff. These three shabtis could be found in Abydos where Petrie uncovered one
of the richest shabtis cache there: Petrie, RT I, 32–33; Schneider, Shabtis I, 269.
73
Cf. Schneider, Shabtis I, 261.
74
Schneider, Shabtis I, 268–69.
75
Schneider, Shabtis I, 262; cf. Kenamun (contemporary to Amenhotep II) his shabtis were deposited in Abydos, Giza, and
his tomb (Schneider, shabtis I, 269).
76
Li, “Connecting Past and Future,” 79.
77
PM I, 219–224 [106].
78
Donohue, “The Vizier Paser,” 103–23; Raedler, “Die Wesire Ramses’ II,” 309–52.
 MEKAWY OUDA 311

Fig. 1. UC39724; courtesy of Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.

Fig. 2. UC39725; courtesy of Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.

Fig. 3. UC39726; courtesy of Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.

312 JARCE 52 (2016)

Fig. 5. UC39703; courtesy of Petrie Museum of Egyptian

Archaeology.

Fig. 4. UC39702; courtesy of Petrie Museum of Egyptian

Archaeology.

Fig. 6. MMA 22.2.29, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1922, 22.2.29.
 MEKAWY OUDA 313

Fig. 7. Egyptian Museum Berlin 367; CR Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, photo-
graph: Sandra Steiß.

Fig. 8. UPM E17679; courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
314 JARCE 52 (2016)

Fig. 9. N 773 S 1428; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

Fig. 10. N 773 S 1429; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

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Fig. 11. N 773 IM 954 S 1430; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

Fig. 12. N 773 IM 2955 S 1431; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

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Fig. 13. N773 S 1432; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

Fig. 14. N 773 S 1433; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

 MEKAWY OUDA 317

Fig. 15. N 773 S 1234; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

Fig. 16. N 772 IM 3702; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

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Fig. 17. N 772 IM 3703 S 1424; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

Fig. 18. N 773 S 1435; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

 MEKAWY OUDA 319

Fig. 19. N 773 S 1436; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

Fig. 20. N 772 S 1427; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.

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Fig. 21. A 75, N 76, N 5212; courtesy of the Louvre Museum.