Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Tall shrine-shaped 'canopic' box

Ptolemaic or Roman Period
4th century BCE–1st century CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130
On the front side of the box the main scene depicts a king in a white crown offering to Osiris who is followed by the deceased, while on the rear a falcon with spread drooping wings and heraldic cobras on either side is shown. The two side vignettes are the ones that clearly indicate the purpose of the box: on one side of the box appear two shrines in which kings or a king and a figure with a disc on its head offer to the Sons of Horus Hapy (baboon head) and Imseti (human head); on the other side of the box the two shrines enclose figures offering to the Sons of Horus Duamutef (jackal head) and Qebesenuef (falcon head). Blanks are left where texts would have been filled in.

Such boxes where the Sons of Horus figure prominently are understood to function either as containers for the viscera since canopic jars have gone out of use, or to hold materials from the embalming process respected because of their association with the body. Examples with preserved lids can have a three-dimensional figure of Sokar or of Anubis on the lid.

The tall boxes seem to belong to the 4th century BCE and later. The precise dating of this one is not clear.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tall shrine-shaped 'canopic' box
  • Period: Ptolemaic or Roman Period
  • Date: 4th century BCE–1st century CE
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Wood, paste, paint
  • Dimensions: H 46.5 × W 23.5 × D 25.5 cm (18 5/16 × 9 1/4 × 10 1/16 in.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1921
  • Object Number: 21.2.63
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Boat-shaped earrings with filigree and granule decoration, Gold
Boat-shaped earrings with filigree and granule decoration
1st–2nd century CE
Coffin of Wedjarenes, Wood (tamarisk and sycomore fig), paste, paint
Coffin of Wedjarenes
ca. 600–575 BCE
Arched Harp (shoulder harp), Wood
Arched Harp (shoulder harp)
ca. 1386–1300 BCE
Boat-shaped earrings with filagree and granule decoration, Gold
Boat-shaped earrings with filagree and granule decoration
1st–2nd century CE
Outer Coffin of Djedmutesankh, Wood, paste, paint
Outer Coffin of Djedmutesankh
ca. 1000–945 BCE

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.