Canopic jar of Nephthys

Unknown

ca. 1981–1802 B.C. · Indurated limestone, paint, linen · Egyptian Art

This Middle Kingdom canopic jar belongs to a set of four (11.150.17b–e), which were used to contain the viscera removed from the body during mummification. These four jars belong very probably to the burial of a mayor’s daughter called Nephthys (for her mummy, see 11.150.15c, and for her two coffins, see 11.150.15a, b). In earlier periods, canopic jars had simple disc-shaped or hemispherical lids. In the late First Intermediate Period to early Middle Kingdom, however, lids in the form of human heads were introduced.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1981–1802 B.C.

Medium

Indurated limestone, paint, linen

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1911