A set of shabtis from the area of M.I.D.A.N.05 at Dra Abu el-Naga and some thoughts on female shabtis

Among the many shabtis found in the area investigated by the Italian Archaeological Mission at Dra Abu el-Naga (M.I.D.A.N.), one group is particularly worthy of interest, that of the lady Ta-Hw.t-s-Mnt(w). Her original burial was certainly outside the area of the University of Pisa’s concession: the fragmentary funerary statuettes made of faience were mainly brought to the area by flash floods. They have well defined, graceful female features, including relief breasts. This article examines their iconography, the text (an abbreviated shabti spell, arranged into three vertical columns), and proposes a date around the early 21st dynasty. It also briefly traces the history of shabtis with gendered features, and, in the final part, it addresses the long-standing debate on the conception of shabtis as replicas of the deceased or as their servants as well as the implications of supporting either hypothesis for the interpretation of gender iconography in shabtis.