3D Model of the Month – One of our first photogrammetry models.

This is our second monthly 3D scan post, we (the Learning Media team) are looking to increase the awareness of the resources that currently exist in UNE’s 3D repository Pedestal3D. We are also hoping to spark a fire of inspiration around the University around what we can do with 3D models and push further into innovative object-based learning. 

If you have an object you use in your teaching and learning and would like to talk about what options are available to make them a virtual object – come and have a chat with the Learning Media team (learningmedia@une.edu.au).

The model.

MA1997.28.1, UNE Museum of Antiquities (UNEMA)

This model is one of the first that Jackson ever made with colour information. It continues to have a special place in his heart, and he still enjoys examining the texture around the feet where his particular choice of a black background crept up in the texturing process.

The subject matter is a Plaster Worker Ushabti, an example of Egyptian Grave Goods meant to represent workers who would serve the deceased in the next life. Often depicted with farming implements and hieroglyphics denoting their readiness to serve, this particular one could be interpreted to have a fishing net or basket on its back.

First attested to during the 11th Dynasty around ca. 2150 BC, these came into popular fashion around the 21st Dynasty c. 1077 BC–c. 664 BC they were commonly made of wood or a tin tipped pottery referred to as Faience, there are examples of those made of stone, clay, wax, terracotta, metal and glass.

Another thing to note is the offset eye of this particular artifact, an irregularity – this most likely would have been the result of a busy worker rushing the job. Ushabtis were made en mass to make ensure the deceased were well tended too in the afterlife.

If you wish to find out more about Ushabti, we recommend
A History of Ancient Egypt
ISBN: 9781405160711
van de Mieroop, M., Wiley-Blackwell 2010

Jump out to view the model on Pedestal3D.