Canopic Jar of Pafhernetjer with Lid in Shape of a Baboon Head
mid 7th-late 6th century BCE
Description
This jar has a lid in the shape of a baboon’s head. The hieroglyphic inscription, incised in four neat columns and painted black, refers to the god Hapy. Given that Hapy is both baboon-headed and protector of the lungs of the deceased, the lid and the inscription together indicate that this vessel once contained the lungs of the deceased individual, Pafhernetjer, who is also mentioned in the inscription. The inscription is as follows: "Words spoken by [the goddess] Nepthys: ‘I hide what is secret; I provide protection for Hapy, who is in me. The protection of the Osiris Pafhernetjer, born of Hetepbastet, is Hapy.’"
Dimensions
Vessel (A): H. 22 × Diam. of base 9.3 cm (8 11/16 × 3 9/16 in.) Lid (B): H. 8 × Diam. 10.5 cm (3 1/8 × 4 1/8 in.)
Provenance
Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1920. Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).
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