Egyptian Calcite Alabaster Canopic Jar w/ Baboon Lid

Egypt, Late Dynastic Period, 26th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. A handsome canopic jar, hand-carved from honey-yellow calcite alabaster with natural veins that illuminate when held next to a bright light. The cylindrical vessel has a flat base, an inverted piriform body with a slightly swelled shoulder, a flat upper rim, and a deep interior cavity meant to contain and protect the mummy's internal organs. The jar lid has a squat lower tenon and is sculpted to emulate the head of a baboon with recessed, discoid eyes beneath furrowed brow ridge, a lobed mane surrounding the face, a crested nasal ridge, and a tapered snout. The exterior of both body and lid has an incredibly smooth texture that creates a pleasing tactile feel. Size: 5.375" W x 13" H (13.7 cm x 33 cm); 14.1" H (35.8 cm) on included custom stand.

Canopic jars are some of the most iconic artifacts from Egypt, made to hold internal organs removed during the mummification process. This tradition lasted for an incredibly long time - the first evidence for a canopic chest containing organs comes from the Fourth Dynasty (ca. 2600 BCE) and they were used into the late 1st millennium BCE. The 18th Dynasty marked a shift in canopic jar tradition, when these jars were given to all people of status, and when their heads were fashioned to look like the four Sons of Horus, including Hapi. The Four Sons were charged with protecting the internal organs, as they had originally been charged with protecting the body of Osiris. The baboon-headed son who represented the north, Hapi, was charged with protecting the lungs of the deceased and was protected by the goddess Nephthys.

A stylistically similar example, of a slightly taller size and with an frontal inscription, hammered for $21,250 at Sotheby's, New York "Antiquities" auction (June 8, 2011, lot 94)

Provenance: private J.H. collection, Beaverton, Oregon, USA

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#149687
Condition Report: Losses to areas of baboon snout on lid as shown. Minor chips to base and upper rim of body as well as lower tenon and head of lid, with light encrustations, and softening to some finer details on lid. Nice earthen deposits and smooth patina throughout.