These gold Egyptian Canopic jars are made from resin and have been finished in golds, reds and blues, colours typically associated with Egyptian imagery

You will receive the set of 4

Dimensions: Height 12cm













Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their own for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from stone or were made of pottery.

The jars were four in number, each charged with the safekeeping of particular human organs: the stomach, intestines, lungs, and liver. The design of these changed over time. In the Old Kingdom the jars had plain lids, though by the First Intermediate Period jars with human heads (assumed to represent the dead) began to appear.

This practice continued up until the time of the New Kingdom, though by the late Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt the human heads were replaced by heads associated with the four sons of Horus, who were also the gods of the cardinal compass points. Each god was responsible for protecting a particular organ, and were themselves protected by companion goddesses from harm. They were:

* Duamutef, the jackal-headed god representing the east, whose jar contained the stomach and was protected by the goddess Neith.

* Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed god representing the west, whose jar contained the intestines and was protected by the goddess Selket.

* Hapi, the baboon-headed god representing the north, whose jar contained the lungs and was protected by the goddess Nephthys.

* Imseti, the human-headed god representing the south, whose jar contained the liver and was protected by the goddess Isis.

The canopic jars were placed inside a canopic chest and buried in tombs together with the sarcophagus of the dead. It was also done because it was believed the dead person would need their organs for the afterlife.

The Egyptians considered the heart to be the seat of the soul so it was left inside the body instead of being placed in a canopic jar. The Ancient Egyptians believed that in the afterlife the heart would be weighed against the feather of ma'at (truth) by the god Anubis. If it was too heavy from bad deeds it would be fed to the monster Ammit.

Sometimes the covers of the jars were modeled after (or painted to resemble) the head of Anubis, the god of death/embalming. Copious amounts of the jars were produced, and surviving examples of them can be seen in museums all over the world.