Publishing Shabtis and Papyri for research, study and pleasure

I am Dik van Bommel from the Netherlands. My background is the ICT world and I have no commercial interests in the world of Egyptology. What you find here has been gathered from various sources and supplemented with my own non-scholarly research.

There are a number of pages that unlock information to leading but now rare publications that can often only be found in a limited number of libraries or private collections. In doing so, I hope to help students who would otherwise not have access to this research material.

My acquaintance with (u)shabtis started in 2002 and has grown into a hobby I enjoy every day. Since it is impossible for me to learn and understand everything that went on in the fascinating Ancient Egypt, I have specialised in the world of these intriguing statuettes.

This focus on shabtis has brought me into contact with inspiring people who have taken Pharaonic Egypt to heart. Some of them have become dear friends of mine and they certainly help me keep my hobby instructive, captivating and exciting.

I have had the honour to collaborate on an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) in Leiden, the Netherlands, about the famous priest cachette at Thebes, Bab el Gasus, Cache II in 2013, and on an exhibition in Monferrato, Italy in 2015.

Since my research into the shabtis from Bab el Gasus, I have become interested in collecting papyrus photos and data inspired by the publications and research of Prof. Niwinski. With some technical tricks, I managed to present many papyri in their full length online for study and research. In the coming years, these publications will be further expanded to create a comprehensive database of beautiful papyri from Egyptian antiquity.

All information, including all photos marked ‘Photo: VB’, is free for non-commercial use. Please bear in mind that I do not know whether it is allowed to publish all the other photos, so if you want to publish some of these materials, you will need to consult with the photographer or owner in question.

Dating of dynasties and governments on this site is based on the time table by Jacques F. Aubert and Liliane Aubert as published in Statuettes funéraires égyptiennes du département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques 2005 pg 180-183. The Egyptological community has not reached a consensus about the dates to be used, so other tables may differ.

Enjoy!

PS The translation feature in the menu, will translate the majority of the content into a number of different languages. Please be aware that this is a machine translation. The base language of the site is English.

Comments and questions are welcome at info@ushabtis.com

View from the entrance of the Royal Cache DB320 into the wadi. Photo: VB