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| | Virtual Egyptian - Shawabti of Nespaiherhat, 1070-1030 BC |
 | | During Dynasty 12 of the Middle Kingdom (circa 1800 BC), a new class of funerary statuettes appeared. |
 | | Streamlined, almost minimalist, most often made of highly polished stone, a single statuette was placed in the tomb, representing the defunct, with his arms, his legs, his whole body shrouded in mummy trappings, up to his head. |
 | | One could reasonably argue that kings did not need shawabtis, because they expected to be exempt from any labor conscription in the kingdom of the dead (and they certainly had no compelling need for a funerary statuette immortalizing their physical appearance, as it was already well documented in a variety of media). |
| www.virtual-egyptian-museum.org /Collection/Content/FAI.MM.00194.html (1577 words) |
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