Canopic Box

The canopic chest was an important part of the funerary equipment of the ancient Egyptians since the Old Kingdom. It was made to hold the four canopic jars that contained the wrapped internal organs removed from the corpse during the mummification process.
The lid of this Ptolemaic wooden chest is now missing. Its contents are also lost. Considering its dimensions and the burial customs of the period, it is unlikely that this chest contained canopic jars; the wrapped organs were rather placed in it directly.
Both the shape and the iconography of the box recall a shrine. The decoration along the top consists of red discs below a red band, probably a stylized representation of a kheker frieze, a motif used to decorate the top ends of tomb and shrine walls. The side panels show the sons of Horus, one to each side. The front of the box bears the depiction of the human-headed Imsety, the rear that of the jackal-headed Duamutef; the right lateral side is occupied by the figure of the baboon-headed Hapy, the left by the hawk-headed Qebehsenuef.