Wooden Canopic Chest

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Ptolemaic Period, 332-31 B.C.

Material: Wood

Dimensions: 27.7 cm high

Price: 14 000 Euro

Ref: 1592

Provenance: According to the expertise of Galerie Puhze, from a Belgian collection before 1983. Sold on 9 March 2007 by Galerie Puhze to the German collection of Erika Krautkrämer (1932-2022). Thereafter kept in the family collection. Accompanied by the original certificate dated 9 March 2007.

Condition: Flaking, particularly on the Djed-pillar, and minor chipping. The cracks in the stucco and wood are stable, and the painting is, for the most part, wonderfully preserved. The lid is missing.

Description: Masterfully painted wooden chest coated with a layer of stucco, made in the form of a naos-shaped shrine in which the mummified internal organs of the deceased were stored. The front side shows a double-winged door within a red frame with two black bolts. The longer side panels are painted with the Four Sons of Horus. Each holds a strip of mummy linen before the body, the so-called “loop of rebirth.” On the right side stands Hapi with a baboon head, protector of the lungs, before the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, who was responsible for the intestines. On the left side stands Imsety in human form, guardian of the liver, before the jackal-headed Duamutef, who protected the stomach. On the reverse side, a Djed-pillar, symbolising the supreme god Osiris, is painted in delicate light blue with black and gray details. It is crowned with ram’s horns with double feathers and serves as a symbol of resurrection. The lid is missing. See for the type, the canopic chest in the British Museum with the number EA8535.