Large Egyptian Shabti for Pa-di-Osiris. Late Period, 26th-30th Dynasty, 664-343 B.C. A large blue-green composition mummiform shabti inscribed for a priest named Pa-di-Osiris, whose mother’s name is Sed-irt-binut; the shabti wearing a striated tripartite wig and long plaited divine beard; holding a pick in the left hand, the right hand holding a hoe and the cord of a seed bag hanging over his left shoulder; the face expertly modelled with carefully rendered cosmetic lines around the eyes, narrow eyebrows, and slightly smiling lips giving it a serene expression characteristic of the finest ushabtis of the period; standing on an integral plinth from which a plain back pillar terminating at the base of the wig extends; twelve horizontal rows of hieroglyphic inscriptions begin just below the line of the elbows and end on the top of the feet, the text containing Schneider’s version VIIA of The Book of the Dead Chapter 6; accompanied by a custom-made display base. Cf. National Museums Liverpool, accession number M13871, for a similar shabti with different dedication; cf. The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 16.9.1, for a shabti of comparable form. 245 grams, 19.5 cm high (413 grams, 22.6 cm high including stand) (7 5/8 in. (8 7/8 in.) Acquired on the Geneva art market, 1980. Swiss collection, early 1980s until 2000. UK private collection, 2000. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate no.11181-188124. The epithet 'true of voice' following the mother’s name, but not that of the owner, is a rather infrequent arrangement in shabti/ushabti inscriptions but can be found on other fine examples from this period. Pa-di-Osiris’s title is unusual, but may belong to the cult of the god Shu whose name is sometimes followed by the epithet, 'he who supports heaven'. [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website]

Very fine condition.