19th Dynasty canopic jars of alabaster (Berlin)

Among the ancient Egyptians, canopic jars were covered funerary vases, intended to keep the viscera of mummified corpses. Jars were made from various materials, including alabaster, limestone, pottery, wood, and bronze. All the viscera were not kept in a single canopic jar, but rather each organ in its own. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 547 pixelsFull resolution (1222 × 835 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 547 pixelsFull resolution (1222 × 835 pixel, file size: 1. ... A modern uplighter lamp made completely from Italian alabaster (white and brown types). ... Khafres Pyramid and the Great Sphinx of Giza, built about 2550 BC during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom,[1] are enduring symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was a civilization in Northeastern Africa concentrated along the middle to lower reaches of the Nile River... Maya funerary urn For the computing term, see URN. An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered and without handles that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. ... In anatomy, the viscera are the internal organs of an animal, in particular the internal organs of the head, thorax and abdomen. ... This article is about the corpse preparation method, for other uses of Mummy see Mummy (disambiguation) An Egyptian mummy kept in the Vatican Museums. ...

In addition to hieroglyphics, figures of gods were often hand painted on the jars. These were the Four sons of Horus, the guardians of the organs^[1]. A section of the Papyrus of Ani showing cursive hieroglyphs. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

• Imsety (man-headed): liver
• Hapi (baboon-headed): lungs
• Duamutef (jackal-headed): stomach
• Qebehsenuef (falcon-headed): intestines

Alternatively, the jars themselves, or the jar lids, were made in the shape of the representative god. In Egyptian mythology, Imset was a son of Horus and a funerary deity, one of the four brothers who were associated with the canopic jars (specifically: the one which contained the liver). ... Hapi was one of the sons of Horus depicted in funerary literature as protecting the throne of Osiris in the Underworld. ... In Egyptian mythology, Duamutef (also known as Tuamutef) was one of the Four sons of Horus and a funerary god who protected the stomach and small intestines of mummified corpses, kept in a canopic jar. ... Qebehsenuef was one of the sons of Horus in Egyptian mythology, the god of protection and of the West. ...

The Egyptians considered the heart to be the seat of the soul, so it was the only organ not removed from the body. The brain was not preserved (it was held to be only responsible for producing mucus), but instead was liquefied and completely drained from the corpse through the nostrils.

Sometimes the covers of the jars were modelled after (or painted to resemble) the head of Anubis, the god of death/embalming. These vases have an elongated form, and surviving examples of them can be seen in museums. The canopic jars were buried in tombs together with the sarcophagus of the deceased, in order to preserve the integrity of the entire body after death (the viscera were extracted to prevent the putrefaction of the corpse). It was also done because it was believed the dead person would need their organs for the afterlife. For other uses, see Anubis (disambiguation). ... For the New York prison see The Tombs. ... The Etruscan Sarcophagus of the Spouses, at the National Etruscan Museum. ...

Decline

By the time of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, the use of canopic jars to hold organs had declined considerably, although the jars themselves continued to be placed in tombs, for their magical symbolism, or perhaps just for tradition's sake. These were often left empty or filled with mud and straw. The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, roughly between 2030 BC and 1640 BC. The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty...

Etruscan practice

By extension, due to the similarity of their form, some Etruscan cinerary urns were also called canopic jars, made of clay or bronze, often put on the replica of a throne into the tombs, and with a male or female head modelled on them, representing the deceased's face with the handles having the form of arms. Extent of Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. ... The crematorium at Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, England. ...

Notes

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Canopic jars

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