Canopic Jar with Jackal-headed Lid
Date: 664-332 B.C.
Dimensions:h. of jar: 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
rim diam.: 4 5/8 in. (11.8 cm)
h. of lid: 4 1/2 in. (11.5 cm)
diam. of lid: 4 1/2 in. (11.5 cm)
Credit Line: Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Object number: 86.138.428.a-b
Inscribed: Six columns of text, written right to left:
Column 1:
Ddt.n nt sbAx rmn
That which Neith has said: I enfold <him> with my arms
Column 2:
nb Hr iri mkt n dwA-mwt.f n
every day, making the protection of Duamutef
Column 3 (first word nty is written between columns 2 and 3):
ty im.i sA wsir it-nTr imy-xt HA
who is in me, the protection of the Osiris, the god’s father, the imy-khet-priest of Ha
Column 4:
TA-Hr-imw sA Dd-pTH
Tja-hor-imu, son of Djed-Ptah-
Column 5, the name Djed-Ptah-iuf-ankh continues from the previous column:
iw.f-anx iri.n Hnwt mAa-xrw sA <n> dwA-mwt.f
iuf-[ankh], engendered of Henut, justified, the protection of Duamutef,
Column 6:
wsir TA-Hr-imw [pw] dwA-mwt.f pw
The Osiris, Tja-hor-imu [is] Duamutef
[trans. S. Schellinger, 2018]
Provenance: By purchase, the Stark family, Orange, Texas, between 1927 and 1929; by bequest, the Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 1965; by purchase, the San Antonio Museum of Art with funding from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Willson, 1986
Label TextCanopic jars held the internal organs that were removed during mummification, and the resin-coated remains of an organ are still preserved in this jar. The hieroglyphic text gives the name of the deceased man, Tja-hor-imu, and records that he was a priest of Ha, a god of the Western Desert. The jar’s lid represents the jackal-headed god Duamutef, one of the Four Sons of Horus, whose protection for Tja-hor-imu is invoked in the inscription.
(Jessica Powers, 2018)
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
