Tutankhamun canopic jars and Canopic Chest
This
chest, except for the removable lid, was carved from a single block of
alabaster which was brought from Hatnub {el-Menya} in Middle Egypt. When
it was discovered, it was covered with a dark linen sheet folded over 3
times. It takes the form of the “Pr-Wr” shrine of Upper Egypt with the
cavetto cornice, torus moulding and the curved sloping lid.
The lid was
fixed to the vessel with cords knotted to gold rings and sealed with the
official seal of the royal necropolis. The seal portrays the
jackal-god Anubis crouching on top of nine chained prisoners who
symbolize the enemies of Egypt. It is mounted upon a sledge made out of
wood, stuccoed and gilded.
Canopic jars Gods and Goddesses
On the corners of the chest, the 4 protector
goddesses are sculpted in raised relief. Each one is identified with the
emblem on her head. The inscriptions carved on the sides of the chest
are filled with blue pigment with prayers offered by the goddesses and
the four sons of Horus on behalf of Tutankhamun.
At the bottom of the chest there is a gilded frieze containing representations of gilded Djed and Tyt symbols. When they opened the lid, which is decorated with a figure of winged Isis holding the Shen sign, the stoppers of the Canopic jars were found to represent the head of king Tutankhamun wearing the Nemes headdress surmounted by the cobra and the vulture on his forehead. The details of the facial features are painted in black and red.
Amarna style of art is evident from the pierced earlobes and the 2 wrinkles under the neck. When the stoppers were removed, they found that the jars are not removable from the chest (carved inside it). Inside each jar, there was a coffinette taking the form of an anthropoid coffin which contained the viscera of the king. Each coffinette is an exact copy in miniature of the 2nd coffin of Tutankhamun.
They are made out of solid gold and decorated in rishi style of decoration and each has a Hieroglyphic line of inscriptions containing the name of one of the 4 sons of Horus with his associated protective goddess and the name of the appropriate internal organ protected. The inside of the lid has a figure of the appropriate deity in protective attitude, and the body of the coffin contains a long magical text on behalf of the king.
Tutankhamun Canopic jars pictures
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