Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate to early Late Dynastic (Saite) Period, 21st to 26th Dynasty, ca. 1070 to 525 BCE. A gorgeous and sizable canopic jar from ancient Egypt that is hand-carved from honey-yellow alabaster with mottled inclusions of light gray, translucent white, beige, citrine, khaki, wheat, and sandy hues. The grand body features a planar base beneath an inverted piriform body as well as a gently rounded shoulder and a deep interior cavity; the interior still contains remains of unidentifiable viscera. The hand-carved brown granite lid rests comfortably within the beveled inner rim of the vessel and features the falcon-form head of Qebehsenuef, one of the four Sons of Horus. Qebehsenuef presents with eyes bulging from beneath a furrowed brow, an aquiline beak, and an incised false beard beneath his sloped chin. Qebehsenuef was associated with the western orientation and guarded the intestines of a mummy, and he himself was protected by the tutelary goddess Serqet. Size (jar): 6.6" Diameter x 9.6" H (16.8 cm x 24.4 cm); (lid): 4.4" W x 2.7" H (11.2 cm x 6.9 cm); (lid on jar): 11.625" H (29.5 cm)

Canopic jars are some of the most iconic artifacts from ancient Egypt, made to hold internal organs removed during the mummification process. This tradition lasted for an incredibly long time - the first evidence of a canopic chest containing organs comes from the Old Kingdom's Fourth Dynasty (ca. 2613 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 carved for people of all statuses, and when their heads were fashioned to emulate the four Sons of Horus - the human-headed Imsety, the baboon-headed Hapi, the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, and the jackal-headed Duamutef.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 10.178.2a, b

A similar example with a lengthy inscription incised on the body hammered for $212,500 at Sotheby's, New York "Egyptian, Classical, And Western Asiatic Antiquities" auction (sale number N09362, June 3, 2015, lot 11)

Provenance: ex-private C. Davis collection, Cypress, Texas, USA, acquired at auction or gallery before 2011

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#169702

Lid and jar body are likely not original to one another, but both are from ancient Egypt. Lid has small nicks and chips around lower periphery and face, with ancient remains of bitumen along underside. Body has chips and abrasions to base, exterior surfaces, top rim, and within interior cavity, with staining from viscera within interior. Both lid and body are intact and excellent. Great surface smoothness throughout, and nice preservation to avian features on topside of lid. Modern felt pad beneath body for stability.