Ushebti for Nes-pa-her-an. Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty, ca. 1069–945 B.C.

Ushebti for Nes-pa-her-an. Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty, ca. 1069–945 B.C.
Faience.
Condition: Intact.
Provenance: -Acquired at the Pescheteau Badin auction house, Paris, France, on October 12, 1990. -Private collection, France.
Measurements: 10.6 cm high; 13.3 cm with base.

Egyptian ushabti in blue faience belonging to Nes-pa-her-an, also known as Nespaheran, an important member of the Theban clergy during the 21st Dynasty. According to the inscriptions preserved on known examples of his ushabti, Nes-pa-her-an held prominent religious offices, including those of Divine Father of Amun, priest-ouah of Khonsu, and scribe of the Temple of Amun.

The piece belongs to a highly refined funerary typology characteristic of luxury production during the Third Intermediate Period. It features a mummy-shaped body, a three-part wig bound by a ribbon, arms crossed over the chest, and a frontal inscription in black paint. The intense blue hue of the faience, symbolically associated with regeneration, water, and life, reinforces the figure’s funerary and protective significance.

The ushabtis were placed in tombs to act as servants of the deceased in the Afterlife, responding in his stead when he was called upon to perform agricultural work or ritual tasks. In the examples of Nes-pa-her-an, the inscription usually begins with the formula “Osiris, Nes-pa-her-an,” followed by his religious titles, underscoring his status as a transfigured deceased and his connection to the Theban priestly milieu.

Nes-pa-her-an’s funerary goods have been linked to the Second Cachette of Deir el-Bahari, known as Bab el-Gasus, discovered in Luxor in 1891 and associated with the burials of priests of Amun. Various ushabtis of this figure are preserved today in international museums, including the British Museum, National Museums Liverpool, Queensland Museum, and National Museums Scotland. The complete preservation of this specimen, along with its provenance documented since 1990, makes it of special interest within the field of Egyptian antiquities collecting.