Description:
A very large wood shabti for a man called Menkheper. In spite of the damage to the figure, this is a highly interesting statuette with wonderfully carved hieroglyphs, arranged in six columns. This is itself is rare, because most of the shabtis from this period have their texts in horizontal bands; however, a few parallels from the same period are known.
The text reads:
To be recited by Menkheper; he says: O, these shawabties, if one counts, if one reckons, if one calls in the realm of the dead, to do all the works which are wont to be done there, to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the riparian lands, to transport sand by boat from the west to the east - now indeed obstacles are implanted for you there - as a man at his duties when you are counted upon at any time to serve there: "Here I am", you shall say.
Menkheper, the owner of the shabti, is not easily identifiable, the more so since no titles or parents are mentioned. The name, especially in its fuller form Menkheperreseneb, indicates that Menkheper was possibly born during the reign of Thothmes III (Helck (1958), p. 388; Gabolde (2011), p. 199), on whose coronation name (Menkheperre) it was based. Yet the name is not very common. Only about half a dozen persons with this name are listed (see Ranke I, p. 150, 13; II, p. 360; see also I, p. XXIII), to which a few have been added later (see for example the priest Menkheper; Gabolde (2011), p. 199; 202). To make it more complicated, it is not always clear whether Menkheper was used as a standalone name or as an abbreviation for Menkheperreseneb.
However, it seems clear that Menkheper was an important man. The size of the shabti and the quality of the inscribed hieroglyphs point towards someone of high rank.
Among the candidates are the royal scribe, personal servant to the king, and mayor of Memphis Menkheper (known from a sandstone stelophorous statue with a hymn to the sun god Ra (Naville (1913), p. 2; pls. IV, 2; VIII, Ba-Bb), or the owner of Theban tomb 79, the overseer of cattle of Amun, overseer of the granaries of the Lord of the Two Lands in Heliopolis, and overseer of the granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt, Menkheperreseneb, whose name was regularly abbreviated to Menkheper. He was one of the important officials during the reign of pharaohs Thothmes III and Amunhetep II (for this person and his titles see Helck, 1958, p. 388-389; 498-499), and he was awarded the gold of honour by the king (Jéquier (1912), p. 123, fig. 3, no. 4). Also known is the High Priest of Amun during the reign of Thothmes III Menkheperreseneb, the owner of Theban tombs 86 and 112 (Helck (1982), p. 43).
Bibliography:
Luc Gabolde, "Une stèle au nom du soldat Sa-Pa-ir dédiée par son frère, le prêtre-pur Men-kheper", Revue d'egyptologie 62 (2011), p. 199-203;
Wolfgang Helck, "Menkheperreseneb", in Wolfhart Westendorf - Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.), Lexikon der Ägyptologie, Volume 4 (Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz, 1982), p. 43;
Wolfgang Helck, Zur Verwaltung des Mittleren und Neuen Reichs (Probleme der Ägyptologie, 3) (Leiden, Brill, 1958);
G. Jéquier, "Notes et remarques", Recueil de travaux relatifs à la philologie et à l'archéologie égyptiennes et assyriennes, pour servir de bulletin à la Mission Française du Caire, 34 (Paris, 1912), p. 117-125;
Edouard Naville, The XIth Dynasty Temple at Deir el-Bahari, Part 3 (Memoirs of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 32) (London, Egypt Exploration Fund, 1913);
Hermann Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen (3 volumes, Glückstadt - Hamburg, 1935-1976).
Dating:
New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, reign of Thothmes III (1479-1425 B.C.) or shortly after.
Size:
Height circa 26.5 cm.
Provenance:
U.S.A. private collection of Walter and Mary-Louise Daniels, San Francisco, acquired circa 1973.
Condition:
Losses to the wood as shown, caused by termites. In spite of this a very impressive piece.
SOLD
Stock number:
E1283