Canopic Jar of Amenhotep
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep II (about 1427–1400 BCE)
- Medium
- Ceramic and pigment
- Classification
- Funerary Object
- Dimensions
- a (jar): 31.7 × 19 × 18.4 cm (12 1/2 × 7 1/2 × 7 1/4 in.); b (lid): 12.7 × 13.3 × 14 cm (5 × 5 1/4 × 5 9/16 in.)
- Culture
- Egypt
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Africa
- Credit line
- Purchased with funds provided by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
One of a set of four jars that belonged to Amenhotep, who oversaw architectural projects in the temple of Amun at Karnak (in present-day Luxor). Now empty, the jars once held Amenhotep’s liver, lungs, intestines, and stomach, which were removed during the mummification process. Each jar has a hand-sculpted stopper that may represent its owner or one of the four sons of Horus, a set of gods associated with these vital organs. An inscription in hieroglyphs on each container promises divine protection over its contents by a different goddess: Selket, Neith, Nephthys, or Isis.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
