Alejandra Cabezas Martinez

 

I Serve Therefore I Am: Negotiating the Life of Shabtis in Ancient Nubia

 

Abstract: This paper provides a close reading of the magic inscription on the Shabti of King Senkamanisken. Originally a composition from the Book of Coming Forth by Day —commonly referred to as the Egyptian Book of the Dead— this spell deals with the reallocation of labour in the Afterworld. Meant to ensure the shabtis “came to life” and worked in the name of the deceased, this practice signals a particular interrelation of economy and belief. By examining funerary literature in relation to sales records and trading permits, this paper explores the role of magic and commerce in the transformation from material to life. Central to the discussion will be notions of selfhood and servitude, and agency and autonomy.  This paper addresses the following questions: what can this object tell us about the ways we conceive of “life” and “death” in and out of museum spaces? Especially in regard to the ancient past, what is alive and what is dead? How does this affect our methods and ethics of display? 

 

Bio: Alejandra Cabezas is a poet and historian from Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador. She graduated Cum Laude from Mount Holyoke College with a double major in Ancient Studies and Mediaeval Literature. She specialised in the mystery cults of the Roman Empire and excavated in the Republic of North Macedonia. Now interested in the stories told by travelling objects, she is completing a master’s degree in Museums and Heritage at the University of Amsterdam. 

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