Canopic jar

Canopic jars of Neskhons, wife of Pinedjem II. Made of calcite, with painted wooden heads. Circa 990-969 BC. On display at the British Museum.

Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their own for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from [lime] stone or were made of pottery.^[1] These jars were used by Ancient Egyptians from the time of the Old Kingdom up until the time of the Late Period or the Ptolemaic Period, by which time the viscera were simply wrapped and placed with the body.^[2] All the viscera were not kept in a single canopic jar, but rather each organ was placed in a jar of its own. The name 'canopic' reflects the mistaken association by early Egyptologists with the Greek legend of Canopus.^[3][4]

The jars were four in number, each charged with the safekeeping of particular human organs: the stomach, intestines, lungs, and liver. The design of these changed over time. In the Old Kingdom the jars had plain lids, though by the First Intermediate Period jars with human heads (assumed to represent the dead) began to appear.^[5]

This practice continued up until the time of the New Kingdom, though by the late Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt the human heads were replaced by heads associated with the four sons of Horus,^[6] who were also the gods of the cardinal compass points.^[7] Each god was responsible for protecting a particular organ, and were themselves protected by companion goddesses from harm. They were:

• Duamutef, the jackal-headed god representing the east, whose jar contained the stomach and was protected by the goddess Neith.
• Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed god representing the west, whose jar contained the intestines and was protected by the goddess Selket.
• Hapi, the baboon-headed god representing the north, whose jar contained the lungs and was protected by the goddess Nephthys.
• Imseti, the human-headed god representing the south, whose jar contained the liver and was protected by the goddess Isis.
• ^[8]

The canopic jars were placed inside a canopic chest and buried in tombs together with the sarcophagus of the dead. It was also done because it was believed the dead person would need their organs to help them through the after life.

The Egyptians considered the heart to be the seat of the soul so it was left inside the body instead of being placed in a canopic jar. The Ancient Egyptians believed that in the afterlife the heart would be weighed against the feather of ma'at (truth) by the god Anubis.^[9] If it was too heavy from bad deeds it would be fed to the monster Ammit.

Sometimes the covers of the jars were modeled after (or painted to resemble) the head of Anubis, the god of death/embalming. Copious amounts of the jars were produced, and surviving examples of them can be seen in museums all over the world.

Gallery

Alabaster canopic jar of a Mnewer bull, circa 672–525 BC. On display at the National Archaeological Museum of Spain, in Madrid.

Canopic jar of Lady Senebtisi. Limestone. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty XII, circa. 1938-1759.

A collection of canopic jars on display at the British Museum.

See also

• Hetepheres - oldest known use of Egyptian canopic jars

Notes