Canopic box
3. - 1. Jahrhundert v. Chr.
About the object
The small shrine consists of individual stuccoed and painted wooden boards. It was used to house the canopic jars - vessels in which the organs of the deceased were buried in ancient Egypt. The tall shrine consists of individual stuccoed and painted wooden boards. Such shrines were used to house the so-called canopic jars containing the entrails of the dead.
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The front section has a double-leaved door, while the less well-preserved painting on the back shows the so-called djed, a pillar-shaped symbol of stability. On the pictorial sections of the long sides, the four sons of Horus are depicted as mummies. However, this arrangement is unusual. On one side, three of the figures have human heads and one a jackal's head. Whereas on the opposite side, there are only two Horus figures with human heads; the son of Horus with the jackal's head is also missing; in their places there are two figures, one with a falcon's head and the other with that of a baboon. Author: Lars Petersen, Translation: Timothy Connell