Ushabti are tiny anthropoid (human-shaped) figures placed in the tombs of wealthy Egyptians. They were intended to do the work of the deceased in the afterlife. This purpose is implied through their name, which may have derived from the Egyptian word “to answer”. The Burke Museum in Beechworth is home to a particular ancient Egyptian Ushabti figure. This artefact was donated to the Museum in 1875. No details about how it left Egypt, arrived in Australia, and where it was located before this donation are known. The Nineteenth Century, when this artefact was donated, was a period when many museums acquired items of ancient Egyptian heritage. Many of these items were procured in less than desirable circumstances, having often been looted from ancient tombs and sold to tourists without documentation as to their original location and/or accompanying grave goods. These artefacts were also divested through partage (the trading of artefacts for funds); however, the latter is unlikely to have been the case for this artefact. Since the Ushabti was donated by an unknown donor, it is likely to have been in a private collection rather than an institution. Ushabti can be dated using iconographic analysis which is non-invasive and provides a comprehensive study of the artefact. The later period of the 18th Dynasty marked the beginning of an increase in both the inclusion of Ushabti as essential funerary items and the creation of Ushabti with tools. From this period, they are no longer depicted without tools. Depictions of tools including gardening hoes are frequently depicted grasped in the Ushabti’s hands whilst items like the seed-bag are depicted hanging on the back rather than in an alternative position. This Ushabti figure grasps a gardening hoe and a mattock and a small seed bag surrounded by a yoke bearing water jars are depicted on the upper back of the Ushabti. These features are essential in helping narrow this dating to the late 18th and before the early 20th Dynasty. The position of this seed bag also provides dating information. In the early 18th Dynasty this bag was consistently drawn on the front of the figurine; however, by the reign of Seti I, this feature moved to the back. Thus, since the seed bag is located on the back of this Ushabti, it cannot date to the early 18th Dynasty. By the 19th Dynasty, Ushabti’s were increasingly made from either faience or terracotta. The availability of these materials in Egypt resulted in the increase of Ushabti production with tombs containing many more figurines than previously seen. The Ushabti held by the Burke collections is made from terracotta. Terracotta was rarely used for Ushabti before and during the early 18th Dynasty with only the odd appearance until the late 18th Dynasty and becoming common through that period until the late Third Intermediate Period. Whilst the face has been damaged, there is no evidence for the Ushabti having been provided with an Osirian false beard. This omission rules out a dating of later than the 25th Dynasty when beards became prominent. The inscriptions also date the Ushabti to the New Kingdom. This is because of the use of sḥḏ (“to illuminate”) with Wsjr (“Osiris”) which only occurs in these periods. Therefore, considering all these elements, the Ushabti can be confidently be dated to between the late 18th to early 19th dynasty.Artefacts like this Ushabti are no longer exclusively representative of their origins in burial assemblages and significance in the mythology of the Egyptian afterlife but are also significant for the accumulated histories they have gained through travel. The movement of this artefact from Egypt to Australia allows insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century, and in particular, the reception of ancient Egyptian artefacts in small rural museums. The procurement of Egyptian artefacts was a social trend around the late 1800s to early 1900s. Egyptian artefacts were considered curiosities and recognised for their ability to attract public attention to museums. They were also utilised in Australian museums, like the Burke Museum, to connect the collection to one of the oldest civilisations known to man and since Australia was considered a “young” country by European settlers, this was vital and derived from an interest in Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” 1859. Furthermore, there was a culture of collecting in the 1800s amongst the affluent in English society which led to the appearance of many Egyptian artefacts in private collections. The acquisition of this Ushabti figure is not certain, but it was likely donated from a private collection rather than an institution. This particular artefact is significant as an example of a high-quality Ushabti representative of those produced during the late 18th or early 19th century. It provides insight into the individualism of an Ushabti and the mythology of ancient Egypt. It also provides an example of the types of items required in the tomb assemblages of this period and reinforces the importance of ensuring the successful afterlife of the deceased through art. This Ushabti belonged to a woman named Taweret-Khaiti, Chantress of Amun, in the late 18th Dynasty or early 19th Dynasty (c.1292 BC) of the Egyptian New Kingdom. It likely comes from an undetermined tomb in the locality of Thebes. This figure is made from Nile silt clay (a polyester terracotta; clay sourced from the banks of the Nile River) which was a popular material for Ushabti construction in the early 19th Dynasty. It is in a fair state of preservation (with the exception of a break through the centre) and originally made to a high quality. The face has been damaged but the eyes and eyebrows are clearly marked with black ink and the sclera painted white. The Ushabti is painted a light brown/yellow colour and features a vertical line of inscription down the lower front. The Ushabti wears a large wig and and a schematic collar. The arms are painted light brown and depicted crossed with bracelets around the wrists. It grasps a hoe and mattock. A yellow seed-basket is depicted on the Ushabti’s back. These features represent the likelihood that this particular Ushabti was intended to complete farm work for the deceased in the next life. There would have been additional Ushabti of similar design within the tomb who worked under the supervision of a foreman Ushabti. The foreman Ushabti would be depicted dressed in the clothing of the living. The inscriptions are painted freehand in black ink and written in a vertical column from the base of the collar to the foot pedestal on the front of the Ushabti. The owner of the Ushabti could elect to have the figures inscribed with their name, the Ushabti spell and any other details they deemed necessary. In the case of this example, the Ushabti is inscribed with the owner’s details and is an abbreviated version of the standard Ushabti formula. This formula ensured that the Ushabti would complete the desired task in the afterlife when called upon by the deceased. Ushabti which were not inscribed would represent their intended purpose through design; however, this Ushabti, like most made in the late 18th Dynasty, conveys its purpose both through both design and inscription. The inscription is as follows: sHD wsir nbt pr Smayt imn tA-wr(t)-xai(ti) mAa xrw which translates to: "The illuminated one, the Osiris (the deceased), the mistress of the household, Chantress of Amun, Taweret-Khaiti, true of voice (justified)"ancient egypt

This item is part of the Dodgson Collection, which was bequeathed to Queen's College in 1892 by the Rev. James Dodgson. The collection was created by Aquila Dodgson, brother of James. Aquila Dodgson was a friend of the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, and it was through this friendship the Aquila was able to acquire ancient Egyptian artefacts. A detailed study of the collection was made by Christine Elias "Discovering Egypt: Egyptian Antiquities at the University of Melbourne", M.A. thesis 2010.Two ovals of hieroglyphs with remains of a red/brown paint on face of cone and round edge. Small paper label inscribed with 'A6' attached to cone.funerary cone, james dodgson, aquila dodgson, flinders petrie

This item is part of the Dodgson Collection, which was bequeathed to Queen's College in 1892 by the Rev. James Dodgson. The collection was created by Aquila Dodgson, brother of James. Aquila Dodgson was a friend of the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, and it was through this friendship the Aquila was able to acquire ancient Egyptian artefacts. A detailed study of the collection was made by Christine Elias "Discovering Egypt: Egyptian Antiquities at the University of Melbourne", M.A. thesis 2010.Three columns of hieroglyphs and remains of a red/brown paint on the face of the cone and on body, end broken off. Small paper label inscribed with 'A6' attached to cone.funerary cone, james dodgson, aquila dodgson, flinders petrie

This item is part of the Dodgson Collection, which was bequeathed to Queen's College in 1892 by the Rev. James Dodgson. The collection was created by Aquila Dodgson, brother of James. Aquila Dodgson was a friend of the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, and it was through this friendship the Aquila was able to acquire ancient Egyptian artefacts. A detailed study of the collection was made by Christine Elias "Discovering Egypt: Egyptian Antiquities at the University of Melbourne", M.A. thesis 2010.Two sherds that join to form a Canopic jar which held the stomach removed during mummification. The stomach was placed under the protection of Duamutef, one of the four Sons of Horus, who were charged with protection of the viscera removed during mummification. He was represented as a human figure with the head of a dog. Duamutef was then placed under the protection of the goddess Neith. Small paper label inscribed with 'A11' attached to back of sherd. The inscription, consisting of four columns of text reads: Words spoken by Neith My arms embrace what is in me I protect Nuamutef, who is in me The revered one with Duamutef, (Osiris) the dignitary Tusy true of voice. (translation by Dr Olaf Kaaper)canopic jar, hieroglyphs, james dodgson, aquila dodgson, flinders petrie

Soldiers experiences in Egypt.Sixteen black and white photographs with handwritten notes on back. Photos depict a soldier visiting Luxor, Karnak, Thebes, Giza and Palestine. (Example of type of description inscribed on back of photographs. 00143.1 ‘Again showing Jericho from very top of mountain with self holding rifle and officer of party. Oct 1941.’world war 1

Neutron scans from ANSTO reveal that only portion of the animal, probably a cat, was wrapped in the mummy. Preliminary reports of C14 dating indicates that it dates from about 600BCE. It was discovered in the 1850s in Egypt. Many animals in ancient Egypt were deemed to represent a specific deity. Egyptologists have suggested that in the first millennium B.C. an act of popular piety was to place a mummified animal as a votive offering in a catacomb established at a cult center of that deity. Such an act may be expected to afford protection and bring good fortune. More recently, a close connection between the veneration of sacred animals and the worship of the king has been proposed, with the suggestion that these offerings were obligatory for religious officials and soldiers connected with certain royal cults. Interment of sacred animals was quite common in the Ptolemaic period (304-30 BCE) and continued well into the first half of the Roman period, or the second century CE. Cat cemeteries have been found throughout Egypt, and it is probably the Goddess, Bastet's association with her divine sisters in the wild, the malevolent Sakhmet and other lion-headed goddesses, that accounts for the presence of very large cat catacombs at Saqqara, Thebes, and Beni Hasan, where these leonine deities were particularly revered. There were several ways in which the cats were prepared for deposition; in the simplest cases the bodies were mummified and wrapped in linen strips, which were sometimes dyed different brown tones and woven to form geometric patterns. Usually the limbs were positioned close to the body, making a compact bundle but some mummies held lifelike poses. Egyptians considered certain individual animals to be living manifestations of a god, such as, the Apis bull. Individuals were mummified when they died and buried for eternal life, then replaced by another single living manifestation. Research on animal mummies shows that the majority of mummies found at the large animal cemetery sites are pre-adults who were purposely killed for use, sometimes by breaking the neck. Some mummies are 'substitutes' containing only a few bones or feathers or possibly sticks or sand. Mummified cat remains.