id: 101376 accession number: 1920.1989 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1920.1989 updated: Shawabty of Nectanebo II, 360–342 BC. Egypt, Late Period, Dynasty 30, reign of Nectanebo II. Pale turquoise faience; overall: 19 x 6.1 x 3.8 cm (7 1/2 x 2 3/8 x 1 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1920.1989 title: Shawabty of Nectanebo II title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 360–342 BC creation date earliest: -360 creation date latest: -342 current location: 107 Egyptian creditline: Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust copyright: --- culture: Egypt, Late Period, Dynasty 30, reign of Nectanebo II technique: pale turquoise faience department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art collection: Egypt - Late Period type: Funerary Equipment find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 19 x 6.1 x 3.8 cm (7 1/2 x 2 3/8 x 1 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience opening date: 1998-05-10T00:00:00 Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience. The Cleveland Museum of Art (May 10-July 5, 1998); Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, RI (August 25, 1998-January 3, 1999). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * The World of Ceramics : Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 30-September 5, 1982). --- PROVENANCE E.A. Abemayor, Cairo, Egypt, through Howard Carter, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: -1920 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1920- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Nectanebo II is the last Egyptian native to be pharaoh. This small statuette has idealized facial features and bears an inscription on the lower half that contains a wish for the afterlife. digital description: wall description: This shawabty is inscribed for King Nakjthorheb, or Nectanebo II. The color of the faience is not the brilliant blue of Seti I's or Pinudjem II's shawabtys, but a much lighter turquoise hue with a more matte finish that became popular during Dynasty 25. The shape is mummiform, with a narrow back pillar; the shawabty doubtless had a base, which has broken off with the feet. The face is small and round. Features are carefully detailed. The eyes are narrow and almond shaped, with long, horizontal cosmetic lines. The nose is long and thin, widening toward the end. Circular depressions indicate the nostrils. The cheeks are puffy, bordered on the top by a deep, angular depression that emphasizes their fullness. The ears are large and naturalistically modeled. The mouth is small and has full lips whose upturned corners affect the "archaic" smile characteristic of this period's portrait type. In all, the features compare well with relief images of this king

The divine wig is voluminous and rests low on the forehead. Its finely striated side lappets follow the contour of the face as they descend. A finely plaited divine beard hangs from the chin. A great deal of detail has been included in the rendering of the shawabty's tools. In the left hand he holds a short curved pick for breaking open the earth; in the right, a plow. In addition his right hand grasps the strap handle of a tiny seed bag that hangs at his shoulder in the back. An inscription of eight registers wraps around the lower body. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Cleveland Museum of Art, and Jenifer Neils. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: p. 7, fig. 8 url: Myśliwiec, Karol. Royal portraiture of the dynasties XXI-XXX. Mainz am Rhein: Ph. von Zabern, 1988. page number: p. 73, no. 4b url: Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 page number: Reproduced: p. 452; Mentioned: p. 452-453 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.1989/1920.1989_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.1989/1920.1989_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.1989/1920.1989_full.tif