Shawabty Box of Ditamenpaankh (cover)
Unknown Artist
715–656 BCE
Medium
painted wood
Dimensions
29.7 × 15.4 cm, l. 31.5 cm
Classification
Funerary Equipment
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Accession Number
1914.718.1.b
About this artwork
High demand for shawabtys in the Late Period, a time when as many as 400 or more shawabtys were placed in the tomb with the deceased, gave rise to a specialized container for storing them: the shawabty box. This example is inscribed for the lady of the house, Ditamenpaankh, and was probably one of a pair originally made for her. The single-masted boat on the box’s lid is perhaps an allusion to the pilgrimage of the deceased to the holy city of Abydos, the cult city of Osiris, king of the dead. T...