Stuo¡rt OnrrNTÀrrI¡lE¡rort $ooIETÂE OnruNr.tr,rs F¡NNrc¡,

XI¡IlI:10

AN UNCOMMON U$EBI¡-FIGURINEFROM A FINNISH

COLLECTION

EY

ROSTISLAV HOLTHOER

HELSINKI 197.*

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us Kelel inslead of HulÈepes). l)es¡rite this, I think, ther' ¡rrtserved theirtra-rlitional funclion.

It has been rtotetl, thaL the uìcbtj-figulines also reserlnblc {r coffin (Llrrsñ lf.rrrHrriu,, 1.q69, ¡1.8{i). This fact is indicated by the luntrarv formulae,rvhich or:cure orì lhc coffins as rvell, an(l also by thc introcluc[ion of tlrc in-vocatiotrs [o Al.en. It sccrns cvident, thab besides thc function of le¡lresentinglhc body to the deceased, either as a substit,ute or as ¡ì stantl-in tvorker, anu$ebtj-figurine re¡l'esented also the c:offin rvhich cnclosed the body.

Thus, the occurrence of figurines in rcostu¡nc des vivantsD can also bcex¡rlained hy the change of the style of the coffins, rvhich took ¡rlace in the 19thdynasty (cf. i.a. the cr¡ffins Louvlrr D 2 and 3), when thc dcceased, on thelirls of thc coffins a¡r¡rearetì drcssed.

I-aler, in the 2lst dynasty, the figulincs in rcostul¡re des vivantsr seellr [ohnve losl, tht¡ir function as substitutes for Lhe botly and the coffin and becamelredsesr to sttpe'rvistr thc crowd of ordinary rnurnrnyfornt ¡xl'orkerrr -u5ebtjs,

¡rlacctl in the graves l"ogethcr lvith them.'l'his new functir¡n is indicated b1'the fact, that instead of hands erossed owcr the chest or held alongside tht:Iti¡ls, the letl" hancl is now often shorvn risen, holding a flagelturn.

The Helsinki-figurine

'l'lte uùebtj-figurine [o be dcscribcd in the ¡rresent articlc, bclongs to thecatl'rcgory of those in rcostume tles vivants¡1. As it slìows some uncomlnoncharacteristics, the editorial board of ühe Fdnnd.s/¡ Eglyptolo¡¡ícal Socíetg recom-rnended to publish it as soon as possible.

'f'hc figurine belongs to the privatc collection of I\,Ir. trIugnus Scl¡¡u¡rnrÅ'(Ilelsinki) and was purchased by hinr at l.he uflea market'r in Paris in theyear l95iì (Srr.ur, 1963, p.36). Linfortunately he did not obtain any infor-rnation about the original provcnancc of the ¡liece.

Il rvas docurnentatecl by the Finnish lìgyptological Society and prelimi-narily ¡rublishctl (Hor,rHoEn, 1970, p. 16).

'l'he figurint' is marle of blar:kcnetl selpentine and re¡rresents a good standardof craftsmanshi¡r. Ils heigth is lg5 millimetres and its preservation, apartfl'om sr¡rall damagcs to the nose ¿r¡rd the right. sleeve, is good (fig. 1).

It t'epresents a bcardlcss ma¡ì, who rvears a long rufy. [Ie is drcsscd in ulong robe with a ¡rrotrutling a¡rron antl is coated with a rna¡rtle rvith out-standing sleeves. Round the neck is an rusfi necklace. 'l'he hands a¡'e crossedover the chest, - right hand over tlìe left. They are holding the symbolsof stability (right) ancl protcction (left). 'I'he legs are togel.her.

Thc figurine is rnounted u¡ron A low, square pedestal. The back of the

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ligtrrine is clonrinate<t by a ci¡ltred back-¡rillar, extending from thc ¡reclestall.o the backhead.

On the sìroulclcrs thele are lrvo small, carved rings - perhaps nrisinter-¡treted falcons' heads of the ruslr ¡recklace.

.f.he text (fig. 2) of the 6th cha¡rtcr of the tsook of the Dead starts o¡r thcright side (A) of the robe and consists of 6 lines, each of them continuing onthe left sidc (B) of the robe. The lasl" part of the text is rvritte¡r on thetrvo lines on thc front of the apron (C).

Despite the good craftsrnanshi¡r the figuri¡re seeurs to have been ¡lrcfarbrica terlrvith the space for the name and the titles originally left blank (as in the cascillusl.ratetl by BntrNro¡¡ & lìNr;¡.:¡.r¡,rr:u. 1927, P. XXVIII:21). The portionsof the texL int:ertecl later. are in the [ranslation marked bv a cursivation.

'l'tutslulio¡t:

(A and ts: l) rrl\Iay the 'Osiris' be illuminated, (namely) lhe ouerseer of theamrÀ's/rops of lhe 'l'emplc (2) Nfr-l¡l 6rù, justífíed. He says: 0, uðebtjs (3)these. If one estimates to reckon you (masc. sing.) to rto (4) any work, rvhichis usually done in the necropolis by a lnan according to his duties, (5) (to)strenghten the field, to fill with rvater (6) thc shorcs, to ferry the sand of(C: 1) the east to thc west, - if reckoned at, any time - 'I am the one (C: 2)rvho does (it), here (I am)' -- you(?) shall say (in the?) necropolis, (namely)Osíris H r-nfr, j ustífied.t

'I'he back-pillar (D) is occupied by a rvish, rvhich is a version of theexpressiorrfrec¡uently found on the statues (i.a. La,r'rs ct l\{¡,rl'r¡¡nrv, 1969, fig. 49) anclu5ebtjs (LoursrirNe, 1962, ¡r. 67, fig. 54) of the l9th dynas[y, but its posi-tion on the bacl<-pillar is somewhaI strange.

Trunslulion:

(D) rEvery (occasion) of beiug contcnt (eic) in the ¡rresence of Osiris, Anubis,lord of R-seta and all the gods of the necropolis to the rkar of 'Osiris', làeoueßeer of lhe woùshops of lhe 'I'emple, Ilr-nfr, juslifieú.

Commentaries'l'hc texts:

.A: 3. ipftu. If legarded as a dcmonstrative plural ¡rronou¡r with a procliticvowel, it indicates that, the noun is regarded as femininc (Grrnnrnan,1950, $ 110),

B: 3. r ìp lar, uto reckon yourr. If correctly translated, this passage indicates,that the satne noun is regalded as masculine,

An uncor¡u¡ron trSebtj-figulinc ft'o¡tr a lti¡inlslt collectio¡r

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Irig, 2. Thc tcxt o¡r the uÉebtj-figu¡'i¡rc from the Schrvanck-collection in I'Ielsinkl.

I Iì r¡ s'r r s ¡,,r v H tr t,'t' lr o En

A: 5. (r) srll,d, ))to .slrenghtcnrr. Evidenl.ly the spcrlling with orìe r is advocatedby thc l)l'esence of this sanìc letter iu lhc llt¡Lh rvords.

D. /rr(/), rrto bc contentr. The occurrence of this verb instead of the t¡sualprr(l), rto corne forth,r can depcnd r¡n tlo factors. It can be cx¡rlainedby the unusual ¡rosition of the tcxl on the back-pillar or sim¡rly b¡'irn oúogra¡lhical mistake clutr to tht' r'esenrltlance ltets.cen the signsfor /r and pr.

'l'hc narlre:

'I'hc naute, Hernafer, is lartr (lìitr\rili, 19115, 252: l0). One rvould ex¡rcct il.as Nefer/rer (as spelled in A: 2) or writterl rvith the sign of a falcon instead ofa face.'l'lre stonc cofiin of thc l0th dynasty belonging to a ma¡r with thesanìe narnr', rnentioned by lìanke (/lrtrl.). s'as clespite efforts not tracerl bvrlrc in thtr ligyptian ilIuscu¡¡r in (lairo.

on the otlter ltand, a narnc s¡lelled iu a sinrilar man¡rct' occullrìs or¡ thesccond rcgister of the linrestr¡nc stcla of Tlunj (Carrro lür.34023), ¡rrobablyfrorn the tilne r¡f 'I'hutnrosis IV, who is also represented on this stela.'lhis¡ltonurncnt is, if correctly dated, lìolevtr, of a too early date in rlnler tosuit an itlentification of thc ¡ìlan rel)resentetl on il. rvith t.he o.lvne¡'of theIIclsinki- u$ehtj (t:f. belorv).

'l'hc dress:

Irigurincs rvith a rcostuntt'tles,r'ivants'r, cor¡rllincd rvith a long rvig do lrol.occulc in the 18th dynasty and arc cxtremely lare during thc lgth dynasty.I have so fal been alllc to find only ltvo such ¡tieccs, belonging [o a ccrrtain,rntajordomus N¿llu, in l.hc ligy¡ltian lluseunr (Nr.s. .17230 and 47231).

,'\s ftlt' tlre ¡lrlsition of the hands and the l)l'(rsc¡lccr of ir tcxt silnilar to D.thcsc figttrines r¡rake out the best ¡raraìlcls to the Ilelsinki- ¡riccc, llut thel'are ¡tr¿ttlc of firetl clay antl lìave tr¿ìcr(rs of blue ¡rain[ and their size, lrt'ing,l8l-¡ nrillilnetrcs, cxceeds that of our ¡riece.

l)uring the f<¡llorving dynas[ies, i.c. thc 20th,2lst an<l thc 22nd, figurincss'iLh suclt a co¡nbinatio¡t of the clress llecol¡re lÌìore conìrnon. Tht:y arc, hou'-tver, of bad craftsnranshi¡r and nrade of blueglazcd fayence or.copper(?).

Such ¡rieces are i.a. found in thc Egyptia¡r lluscunr (Nr.s.,16912,468.17..17976, 48169, 48460, 48462, 48466 c/ n1.), l{estnet'-nìuseum (\\Ior.nnnrxr;,1958, fig. 59), Flildesheim Pelizäus lluseu¡n (Snrlrrins, 1928, Ill. 26: 5),Louvre (figurine of Nsj I/nsrp) and thtr l.'it.zrvillian X'luseum (Cl,u..r.ox, lgZ2,Pl. XXXIV:5-6 and pp. 167-175).

Nforcower, [he figurines of the 21st, and thc 22nd clynasties are oftcnrcpresenterl rvith their left hand upright, lrolding a flagellurn and thus donr¡t suit the süylc of our figurine.

Âtt tt¡lcolllurotr rrScblj-figtrlittc frot¡l a lìinttislt collectit¡t¡

The dating:'l'hus, tfu:spittr lheir scarceness, l.hc best stylistical pat'âllels arc fottnd i¡r

lhc lgth tlynasty, to which our ¡titrce ¡ììost prol)ably should be dated.

Ilos'cver, although thtre are no ¡larallcls of stotre, thc fact, that t,he similarco¡nbinatiou of thc dress with a long rvig becornes rììor('c(,nunolt in thc 2lstdynasty, intìica[es tr slightly latcr dating of ottr ¡ritrcc to tlte cnd of the

1llth tlynasty or evelt to tltc 20th dynasty.lf rvc acce¡rt such a dating, iL may rend(ìr a clue also to [hrr utrkltorvn

l)rovenânce of the Flelsinki- figulinc. Cerny (.IEA 26., I.ondon 1941) has

stated, that thc term uTem¡rle'r as s¡lelled in the title o[ I{ernefer, cottld bc

an abbrevia[c<l name fol the temple ol l'Iedinel IIabtt. Conseqttently lÌernefer'might have Ìreen in his lifctime. uthc ovelseer of the worksho¡rs (or craftsrnen)

of thei }leclinet Halxr tem¡lle,r and finally buried so¡nclhere in the 'l'heban

lt'tountÍìitìs,

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Burrcr:, li. A. \\'¡,r,t¡s,'l'hc Boolt of the f)ca<l ('l'ranslation).2¡rtl crl' f,ondon l0l-¡ll.

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