Facsimile edition of the 1972 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1914 pioneering typological catalog of Egyptian Shuabtis, one of a number of such catalogs to be reissued in this new series.
Shuabtis, funeral statuettes made of stone or timber, were frequently encountered in early tomb and cemetery excavations. Petrie identified and describes a chronological sequence of development from simple statuettes emphasizing the head, which appear to be substitutes for real heads that were often removed from the body, through to later detailed forms that he recognized as substitutes for the mummy. He presents a discussion of the formula used in the inscriptions, their royal and sacred affinities, and identifies examples of additional texts. The examination of forms, formulaic inscriptions, materials and dating evidence is accompanied by transliteration of names, illustrated inscriptions, and over 650 photographed statuettes.