USHABTI IN TURQUOISE FAIANCE FOR SEMATAUI XXVI-XXX Dynasty. Exceptional ushabti in bright turquoise faiance for the priest Sameref and commander of the troops: Semataui. Mummiform figure, standing frontally with a tripartite striped wig and fake braided beard, high-ranking symbols, hands crossed on the chest to support the hoe and the flagellum, seed bag hanging from the left shoulder on the back, back pillar. Twelve horizontal lines of T-hieroglyphic inscription, translated as follows: “the enlightened one of Osiris, the priest Sameref, commander of the troops, Semataui, son of Sheri, born of Tashepsherti. Oh these ushabti, if you count the Osiris Semataui to do the works there in the necropolis. " Sameref (the son he loves) was a priestly title associated with the necropolis of Heracleopolis Magna. The same personal name Semataui (in Greek Somotus) confirms the origin of the character from Heracleopolis because Semataui "the one who united the two lands" was a falcon-headed divinity who was worshiped in this city. The name of the father Sheri, means "the child", the name of the mother Tashepsetherti "the nobleman is happy". Important ushabti of exceptional workmanship and grandeur. Former Dutch private collection. The ushabti, the word meaning "those who respond", were statuettes that were placed in the tomb of the deceased and were useful for the afterlife. Often these were male figures with a plow or a hoe and a sack on their shoulders which, in the front, carried a chapter of the Book of the Dead. The ritual declamation of the inscription gave life to the statuettes that would work in the place of the deceased. LARGE BLUE FAIENCE USHABTI FOR SEMATAUI Large blue glazed faience pottery mummiform ushabti, wearing the royal wig and beard, holding the pick and the hoe with the crossed hands. Twelve horizontal hieroglyphic registers on his legs. This is the ushabti for the Sameref-Priest commander of the troops Semataui. The text reads as follows: Illuminating of the Osiris, the Sameref-priest, commander of the troop, Semataui, son of Sheri, born of Tashepsherti. The standard ushabti spell says: Oh, these ushabti, if one counts the Osiris Semataui to do the work there in the necropolis. Sameref ("the son whom he loves") is a priestly title connected with the necropolis of Heracleopolis Magna. The personal name Semataui (Greek: Somtous) also indicates that the bearer of this name once lived at Heracleopolis because Semataui "he who unifies the two lands" was a falcon headed deity which was worshiped there. The name of the father, Sheri, means "the child"; the name of the mother, Tashepsetherti, "the noble one is content". An impressive example. Provenance: Ex. Old Dutch collection, early 1980s. About 600-300 BC