An Egyptian Serpentine Ushabti of Kefri, Mistress of the House, late 18th Dynasty, circa 1330-1292 B.C.

holding hoes and a seed-sack behind her left shoulder, and wearing a pectoral in the form of a ba-bird with outstretched wings, broad beaded collar, long enveloping wig of horizontally striated curls, and floral diadem centering a lotus blossom above the forehead, her face with full lips indented at the corners, straight nose, and almond-shaped eyes with long incised eyebrows and cosmetic lines, the seven lines of inscription in sunk relief naming the owner and reciting a spell on her behalf followed by verses from chapter VI of the Book of the Dead.

Heinz Herzer, Munich, 1970s
Felix J. May Collection, Zurich, Switzerland, acquired in 1981/1982

“Geschenk des Nils: Ägyptische Kunstwerke aus Schweizer Besitz,” Archäologische Sammlung der Universität, Zurich, Historisches Museum, Bern, Kunstmuseum, Lucern, and Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva

Hermann Schlogl, Geschenk des Nils, Ägyptische Kunstwerke aus Schweizer Besitz, exhibition catalogue, Basel, 1978, p. 61, no. 191, illus.
Hermann A. Schlögl and Andreas Brodbeck, Ägyptische Totenfiguren aus öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen der Schweiz, Freiburg and Göttingen, 1990, pp. 80-81, no. 26, illus.

Excellent and as shown in photos. Note imperfection on back of wig. Tip of nose slightly abraded. A few very minor nicks.
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This ushabti inscribed for a woman is a rare example of its kind in the 18th Dynasty. Traces of a vertical worn inscription on the back may indicate that it was originally carved for a different person and usurped.

For typologically and stylistically related examples see Brussels, Musées Royaux du Cinquantenaire, Inv. No. E 5536 (L. Speleers, Les figurines funéraires égyptiennes, Brussels, 1923, pl. 22, P. Newberry, Funerary Statuettes and Model Sarcophagi, Cairo, 1937-57), no. 47626, and A. Wiese, Ägyptische Kunstwerke aus der Sammlung Hans & Sonja Humbel, Basel, 2014, pp. 62–63, no. 25.