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Herbert Make & Take
How to...
make an Egyptian shabti
The Ancient Egyptians believed that after death, the
body and soul would travel on to the afterlife. This
meant it was important to take all the things they
would need with them for their new life. A shabti was a
small statue that was believed to turn into a servant on
reaching the afterlife and so was buried with the body.
1.
Screw up a sheet of
newspaper or foil and make
the shape of the shabti in the
picture. It doesn’t need to
be very big – about 12cm in
length.
To make a sh
abti yo
u will need:
• an old newsp
aper or foil, • masking tap
e,
• a sheet of c
oloured tissue
paper (blue o
r gold colour
works well)
• felt tip pens.
2.askCinogvetar thpee tobogdivyeinit a flat
m
ake it secure. It
surface and m
y
a mini mumm
looks a bit like
at this point!
asking tape
3.gluCeoavendr thsteicmk sm
all pieces
in
e all over the
of coloured tissu
body.
5.
4.
Once the glue/tissue is dry,
use the pens to decorate the
shabti with Egyptian patterns
and symbols. Look at the
symbols on this activity sheet
to give you some ideas.
Don’t forget to draw in a
face!
Your shabti is now re
ady to go
on a journey to the
afterlife.
Variations: You could use this
technique to make other ancient
Egyptian amulets like a scarab beetle.
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