Identify · Ancient Egypt

Egyptian Ushabti: How to Identify Them and Spot the Fakes

Ushabti (also written shabti or shawabti) are the small funerary figures placed in Egyptian tombs to do work on the owner's behalf in the afterlife. They were made in large numbers over many centuries, which is why they appear so often for sale. They are also among the most faked Egyptian objects, and Egypt is one of the highest-risk source countries for undocumented material.

This guide explains what ushabti are, how they changed over time, the materials and inscriptions you will see, the physical signs of fakes, and the paperwork you should insist on.

What an ushabti is

An ushabti is a small figure, usually shown wrapped like a mummy with hands crossed on the chest, often holding agricultural tools. The idea was that if the dead person was called to do labour in the afterlife, the figure would answer and do it instead. Many carry a version of the "shabti spell", Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, or at least the owner's name and titles.

Ushabti appear from the Middle Kingdom and continue into the Ptolemaic period. Over that time the number placed in a burial grew a great deal: later burials could include hundreds of figures, sometimes with "overseer" figures to manage groups of "workers". That mass production is why so many survive, and why so many reproductions can hide among them.

How ushabti changed over time

Dates below are deliberately broad. Use them to orient yourself, then check specialist references.

Materials and what they look like

Faience

Egyptian faience is not tin-glazed pottery. It is a body of crushed quartz with small amounts of lime and alkali, which forms its own glaze layer during firing. Genuine faience often shows:

• a granular, sugary body where the surface is chipped;
• a thin glaze that can be uneven, pooled or worn on high points;
• colour ranging from bright blue to pale green, often faded or patchy.

Modern reproductions are frequently ordinary fired clay with a thick, glassy glaze, or a cast resin or plaster figure painted blue-green. A chip that reveals smooth red or white clay, or uniform resin, is a strong warning sign.

Wood, stone and terracotta

Wooden ushabti are fragile and susceptible to insect damage and cracking; painted surfaces are easily restored or invented. Stone examples (limestone, serpentine, alabaster and others) are rarer and often finer. Terracotta figures may be painted. All three are faked; all three need examination by a specialist before any significant purchase.

Reading the inscription in general terms

You do not need to read hieroglyphs fluently to ask good questions. A few general points:

• Is there a name? Many ushabti name their owner, often with titles. A specialist can sometimes connect a name to a known burial, which matters a great deal for provenance.
• Does the text make sense? Fakers often copy signs without understanding them, producing jumbled or meaningless sequences, or the same few signs repeated. An Egyptologist can usually tell quickly.
• Is it incised or painted? Late Period faience ushabti usually have incised text. Painted text on faience is more typical of some earlier and Third Intermediate Period examples. A mismatch between style and text method is worth asking about.
• Does the wear match? Text that is crisp and deep while the rest of the figure is worn suggests recutting or modern carving.

A beginner-friendly Egyptian grammar or sign list makes these conversations much easier: browse hieroglyph primers on Amazon.

Fake and reproduction red flags

Study photographs across many listings to train your eye, then compare against museum online collections: Late Period faience ushabti on eBay and Third Intermediate Period ushabti on eBay. Treat these as study material, not endorsements.

Provenance and the law

Egypt is one of the most legally sensitive source countries in the antiquities world.

• Egyptian law has treated antiquities as state property and prohibited their private export for decades, under a national antiquities law dating from the 1980s and earlier legislation before it.
• The United States and Egypt have a bilateral agreement under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act. It restricts import of designated categories of Egyptian archaeological material unless there is an export permit or documentation showing the object left Egypt before the restriction took effect.
• Egyptian antiquities have also been the subject of high-profile seizures and repatriations from dealers, auction houses and museums. Paperwork that looked adequate to a buyer has not always survived scrutiny.

What to ask for:

1. A written ownership history with names, places and dates, backed by documents.
2. Evidence of when and how the object left Egypt, with export documentation where applicable.
3. Evidence of lawful import into your country.
4. Any old labels, photographs or catalogue entries, and confirmation they really match this figure. Our guides on what one old label can prove and matching an object to an old auction catalogue help here.
5. A written warranty of title and authenticity.

If these cannot be produced, walk away. There is no responsible workaround.

When a replica is the better buy

If what you want is the look of an ushabti on a shelf, a clearly labelled museum reproduction gives you that without legal risk or the chance of funding looting. Keep the label and receipt with it so it is never mistaken for an antiquity later. See When a Museum Replica Is the Smart Buy.

How to research value without guessing

We do not quote values. The factors are consistent: period and quality of modelling, material, legibility and content of the inscription, whether the owner can be identified, condition, and documented provenance above all. Research completed sales with comparable documentation, and read auction archives that publish provenance in full: sold ushabti listings on eBay.