26th Dynasty, 624-525 BC. A D-shaped cartonnage panel with painted design of the four sons of Horus seated within a rectangle, with radiating geometric designs in seven bands and broad band of winged scarab representing Kheper-Ra and addorsed hawks above, all executed in ochre, crimson, blue-green and black pigment; supplied with custom-made frame. 970 grams, 37cm wide (14 1/2"). Ex Ian Macmillan collection; acquired before 1980. Cf. Ikram, S. and Dodson, A. The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity, London, 1998, pp. 166-192. In the Pyramid Texts the four sons of Horus are described as guides for the deceased on the path to the next world. Later they were linked to the four cardinal points and were depicted on the four corners of coffins during the Middle Kingdom. They protected the deceased from hunger and thirst, especially the inner organs which were most affected. Because of their role in protecting the inner organs they later came to be associated with the canopic jars that held the mummified viscera. Each of the four sons was associated with a protective goddess and a complex theology came into being from the New Kingdom onwards. The four sons of Horus are: Imsety, human-headed and protector of the liver; Hapi, ape-headed and protector of the lungs; Duamutef, jackal-headed and protector of the stomach; Qebsenuef, falcon-headed and protector of the intestines. Kheper-Ra was the form that the sun god took as he rose from the underworld at the dawn of a new day. By having this image on the panel it not only protected the deceased but also offered the promise of re-birth just as the sun is reborn each day.

Very fine condition.