Canopic jar

Canopic jar with head of Duamutef

Ancient Egyptian, Late Period (664 – 30BC)

Limestone

Our Object of the Month for August was chosen and researched by work experience student Hope Humphrey. She chose this canopic jar with a lid in the form of the jackal-headed god Duamutef. Canopic jars were used to store and preserve the internal organs of the deceased, as part of the process of embalming or mummification. The origin of the word ‘canopic’ is not certain, but it is likely to be related to the ancient town of Canopus in lower ancient Egypt. The term canopic jar is used today by Egyptologists to refer to the jars which contain the organs of a mummified person.

The use of canopic jars dates back to the Old Kingdom (2686 – 1189 BC), although they originally had plain lids. In the Middle Kingdom (2055 – 1650 BC), canopic jars were made with hieroglyphic inscriptions carved into them and lids in the form of human heads. It was during the New Kingdom (1292 – 1189 BC) that the lids began to be made in the form of the ‘four sons of Horus’, who were depicted with jackal, human, falcon, and baboon heads. They could also have lids with the image of the royal person whose organs they contained.

Canopic jar with a lid depicting a Queen, alabaster, New Kingdom, Amarna period, Metropolitan Museum, object number 30.8.54

The Ancient Egyptians believed that the fours son of the god Horus would protect the deceased in the afterlife. Horus was widely worshipped as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and the sky. His four sons were depicted on the lids of canopic jars which contained different organs. Jackal-headed Duamutef protected the stomach, human-headed Imsety protected the liver, falcon-headed Qebehsenuef protected the intestines, and baboon-headed Hapi protected the lungs.

Osiris and the Four Sons of Horus, 20th-century copy of original from the Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky, New Kingdom, Metropolitan Museum, object number 30.4.157

The heart was not taken out of the body during the mummification process, as the Ancient Egyptians believed to be the source of a person’s intelligence and consciousness. When a person passed into the afterlife they needed their hearts in order to be judged fairly. Their heart would be weighed on a set of scales with a feather. If the person’s heart was heavier, then you would be devoured by Ammit (a deity with the head of a crocodile, front of a lion and back of a hippopotamus.). If their heart was lighter, they would go to the ‘field of reeds’ or Aaru. Aaru, or the afterlife, was believed to be an eternal fertile land which was a perfect version of the living world in Ancient Egypt.

Bead amulet in the form of a heart, haematite, Late Period, 664 – 332 BC, Chiddingstone Castle collection, object number 01.0137

Canopic jars were made from different materials, including limestone, alabaster, faience, and clay. Our Object of the Month is made from carved limestone and is in very good condition. The lid with its tall, pointed ears is still intact, and the carved hieroglyphs have not been worn away.  It is currently on display in the castle’s Egyptian Room.  

This object is just one of the many objects that form part of Denys Eyre Bower’s five impressive collections which include Ancient Egyptian, Japanese, Buddhist, Stuart and Jacobite, and Books. For more information on these objects, review our Object of the Month series, visit the Historic House and Collections or contact our Curator, Naomi Collick by email or by calling 01892 870347.