The mummiform figure is standing on an integral trapezoidal base against an uninscribed back pillar. On the lower half of his body, ten rows of crisply incised hieroglyphs recite Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead, mention the name of Neferibresaneith, and give his filiation as son of Shepenbastet.

The masterfully modelled face has smooth rounded contours and refined details, with eyebrows, upper and lower eyelids and extended eyelines all in raised relief. He wears a striated tripartite wig and a braided false beard curving out at its tip. At his chest his hands protrude from the wrappings and hold a crook, flail and the twisted rope of a seed bag suspended behind the left shoulder. These agricultural implements reference the ushebti’s function to perform labour on behalf of the deceased in the afterlife.

The ushebti figures for Neferibresaneith have long been celebrated as amongst the very finest examples to survive from the Late Dynastic Period. The meticulous workmanship is especially noticeable in the refined facial features and the precisely formed hieroglyphs. This statuette is part of a large collection of 336 ushebtis found in 1929 by the English Egyptologist Cecil Mallaby Firth in the tomb of this high-ranking official from the Saite court. Sold individually by the Service des Antiquités, these pieces found their way into the most re- nowned museums and private collections worldwide.