Shabti of Seniu

Shabti of Seniu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The shabti of the chief steward and scribe Seniu is a particularly fine example of this type of funerary figurine from the early New Kingdom. It is inscribed with the spell ensuring that the shabti will perform certain kinds of labor for the deceased in the afterlife. This work included maintenance of irrigation canals, and cultivation of the fields. The shabti was discovered during excavations by the Museum's Egyptian Expedition. It had been broken and mended in antiquity suggesting that it was valued by its owner.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.