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17 janvier 2017

Ushabti of King Senkamanisken; Sudan, Napata Period, reign of Senkamanisken, between 643 and 623 BC

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Ushabti of King Senkamanisken; Sudan, Napata Period, during the reign of Senkamanisken, between 643 and 623 BC. Serpentine. Height 19.5 cm. J. Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

This funerary statue was discovered in the pyramid of King Senkamanisken in Nuri. Many of the ushabtis of this grandson and third successor of Taharqa are characterized by the presence of the double uraeus. The figure is wearing a “nemes” headdress (a headdress of white material adorned with stripes dyed in blue, a substitute for a crown. It is a light and comfortable covering of the whole of the head, falling vertically from behind the ears, and then tied in a knot near the nape of the neck, in the form of a plait. A scepter and a scourge are held in the hands crossed over the chest. There is also an inscription of nine lines on the body with text from Chapter VI of “The Book of the Dead”, dedicated to magic formulas for ushabtis.

The ushabti figures (those who answered) were figurines that were buried in tombs so that they could “respond” to a call from Osiris, when the latter demanded that the owner of the tomb perform certain manual labour in the afterlife. Apart from the fact that they held hoes and baskets like any labourer, the shaping of these figures imitated the features of the mummy of the deceased. The tomb of Taharqa contained one thousand and seventy stone ushabtis, which, in their time, had been lined up along the walls of the chambers and passageways in columns two or three deep. Ushabtis first appeared in the Middle Kingdom and the usual practice was to bury the deceased with 365 of them, one for each day of the year, grouped in squads commanded by 36 overseers. The large number of ushabtis in this case is quite remarkable. Moreover, as well as being of many different types and sizes, all these figures were carefully carved from veined marble, syenite, serpentine, green ankerite, quartzite, translucent calcite or alabaster. As they were the property of a monarch, some carry hoes and baskets, others appear with utensils characteristic of a king: sceptres and staves. Some have their heads covered with bag-form wigs while others wear the imperial headdress called “nemes”. All of them have the same text from Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead engraved on the body.

In the beginning the kings of Kush were buried in beds placed on platforms of stone inside their pyramids. These structures were based on private Egyptian tombs from the New Kingdom. Taharqa introduced more Egyptian-style elements like mummification, coffins and sarcophagi of Egyptian origin, as well as the use of the ushabti figurines.

During Dynasty XXV there was a nostalgic return to artistic forms of the past, particularly forms from the Middle and the New Kingdom. The use of stone for royal statuary and the sculptural style are the best examples of this tendency. To be precise, the ushabti figurines of the pharaoh with the somewhat rough carving of the body, the facial features and the use of obsolete versions of inscribed text, all reflect the influence of models that date from the Middle and New Kingdoms.

King Senkamanisken (Senk-amani-sken), reigned between 643 and 623 BC in Kush (Nubia) with its capital in the city of Napata. He married Nasalsa, the daughter of his predecessor, Atlanersa. His wife survived him. 

On his death his son, Anlamani, came to the throne and reigned until 593 BC, when he was replaced by his brother, Aspelta. Senkamanisken’s pyramid in the Nuri Necropolis is Nu. 3. 

Senkamanisken finished the building of Gebel Barkal which had been begun by Atlanersa. A giant statue of approximately 4 metres in height which once stood at its gates is now in the National Museum of Sudan. Archaeologists also found three smaller statues at Gebel Barkal representing this king.

These were buried, presumably hidden due to the attack on Kush of the Egyptian pharaoh, 
Psamatik II, in 592 BC. A sphinx with Senkamanisken’s name written on it was also found at this site. 

Diverse objects with his name engraved were found as well at Meroe, the future capital after the sacking of Kush by Psamatik, which indicates that this city became a place of relevance. There were numerous funerary ushabtis among these objects. More than 1277 ushabtis were found in his pyramid in Nuri, and these are conserved in the Brooklyn Museum. They are smaller but more numerous than those of his grandfather, Taharqa.

The stylistic tendencies of the preceding era, combining Egyptian influence with the purely Nubian tradition, are seen much improved in the sculptures of Senkmanisken. The legs and the feet are more solid and bigger than in works of anterior periods and for this reason are more convincing. The arms end in fists, which accentuate the musculature as a means of reflecting power. The head rests on a short neck while the black African facial features of the dynasty are evident. The double uraeus over the forehead remains in place. A khat headdress fits tightly over the rounded skull. A cord with depictions of the heads of cattle hangs around the neck. The figures wore various pieces of jewellery (bracelets, armbands and anklets), sandals with straps, the royal kilt and the cap.

Provenance: The family of M. Mustafa Abdalla Babeker, Khartoum, Sudan, 1917 - 1930. Collection of Don Cevera-Bes, 1930. Private European collection, 1940. Archaeological origin in the pyramid of Senkamanisken, the royal necropolis at Nuri, Nubia.

J. Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art - Classical and Egyptian Antiquities. Consell de Cent 278, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

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