35. Ushabti of Nehi, Viceroy of Kush

Nehi was viceroy (governor) of Kush during part of Thutmose III’s reign, who led his last campaign in Nubia into the area of the Fourth Cataract. In this role Nehi oversaw mining operations and major building projects in Egyptian-controlled Nubia. The title was frequently combined with other honorific and official titles, such as ‘overseer of the southern lands’, ‘overseer of the gold lands’, and ‘king’s son of Kush’ (with jurisdiction in Kush, as well as Upper Egypt). The latter term did not imply a family relation, but a close rapport with the king. Ushabtis are frequently found in Egyptian graves, where they served as symbolic ‘helpers’ in the afterlife. This massive ushabti belonged to Nehi, and may have originated from his tomb in the Theban cemetery of Qurnet Murai, south of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna (tomb D.1). The inscriptions on it read: “The king’s son, overseer of the southern countries, Nehi, justified. He says: O you ushabti, if the king’s son, Nehi, justified, is detailed, O, in the necropolis for all the works which are done. There, to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the banks, to transport the sand of the west and of the east, ‘I will do it! Here am I!’ you will say”.