Review article

Ancient Egyptian funerary statuettes in Croatian collections

Mladen Tomorad orcid.org/0000-0001-5883-206X ; Department of History, Croatian Studies

Abstract

Approximately 5,000 Egyptian artefacts are housed in the more than twenty museums and known private collections in Croatia: ca 4,042 in museums and ca 400-1,000 in private collections. 375 shabtis are housed in nine museums and all known private collections in Croatia. Most of them (346) date to the Pharaonic periods of Ancient Egypt, but also 26 shabtis and 3 pseudo-shabtis were unearthed during excavations in the territory of the former Roman provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia (today in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina). These shabtis were usually associated with the diffusion of the Egyptian cults during the Graeco-Roman eras (ca 4th century BC to 3rd century AD). The largest collection of shabtis is held in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb (312). They were collected over an extended period, from 1865 to the present, from various sources, but most are of unknown provenance. They were crafted between the Middle Kingdom (inv. no. E-310) and the third century AD. Analysis showed that all shabtis are genuine and that almost all known types and forms of shabtis can be found in Croatian collections.

Keywords

Egyptian collections; Croatia; shabtis; funerary statuettes; history; typology; Archaeological Museum in Zagreb

Hrčak ID:

94550

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/94550

Publication date:

31.12.2012.

Visits: 1.859 *