New Orleans, Louisiana

Shabtis ~ Egyptian Revival?  In ancient Egyptian eschatology, a member of the nobility would need servants in the afterlife. So, little figurines known as shabtis were entombed with the deceased. Some say the original custom was to bury flesh-and-blood servants with departed royalty. Today, many graves in North America are adorned with helper elves drawn from the ken of popular culture. After greeting the Mardi Gras shabti from the present, take a look at one of his ancestors, a few shabtis who now reside in the British Museum. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. [2014]