VesselsEgyptian7th-6th century BCE

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.’"

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Carved

Medium

Alabaster

Culture

Egyptian

Period

Late Period, Dynasty 26

Century

7th-6th century BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

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).