Model Canopic Jar

Solid limestone model of a Canopic jar with a baboon's head, representing one of the Four Sons of Horus, Hapy, who protected the lungs. Following the Twentieth Dynasty 20 some embalmers abandoned use of jars (known now as canopic jars) to store the internal organs removed from a dead body during the mummification ritual. Canopic jars were still an important element of a good burial so models of the jars were placed in the tomb. These solid stone models of jars are sometimes called dummy canopic jars. Wellcome Historical Medical Museum no. 608 (Rustafjaell collection). Purchased at Sotheby's, London, 19-21 December 1906. CONDITION NOTE 1998: Worn, chipped, scratched, surface dirt, discoloured, label adhered to surface. Chipped left eye. Pencil marks on nose. Label with serrated edge adhered to surface with printed number 608 which is how Robert de Rustafjaell collection items were labelled.