Tote Bag - Shabti of Pharaoh Sety I (detail)

Cotton tote bag with interior pocket, and external d-ring link
Dimensions: 42 x 44cm
Exclusive to NGV design store

The word shabti means ‘one who answers’, meaning the call to work. This mummiform figure of Pharaoh Sety I was placed in his tomb to magically spare the pharaoh from menial labour in the afterlife, as it was a requirement of every person, even the king, to produce their own food. This figure carries the standard implements of a hoe in each hand and a basket over its back. The lower half of the figure is inscribed with Chapter 6 from the Book of the Dead, which enabled the shabti to accomplish its tasks.

Shabti of Pharaoh Sety I 19th Dynasty, reign of Sety I, about 1294–1279 BCE, Egypt, Thebes, Valley of the Kings, tomb of Sety I © The Trustees of the British Museum