Canopic Jar Lid
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
The eyes and eyebrows of this female head were once inlaid. Their shapes, the woman's smiling little mouth, and the holes in her lobes for earrings suggest that the head was carved during the reign of Amenhotep III or one of his successors at the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty or, more probably, during the Nineteenth Dynasty. The flaring wig is hollow, a feature that suggests this head was not part of a statue but was made as the lid of a jar. However, in this period, canopic jars, made to contain the internal organs of the deceased, had lids in the shapes of gods' heads. Human-headed jar lids are rare.
MEDIUM
Wood
DATES
ca. 1390â1185 B.C.E.
DYNASTY
late Dynasty 18 or Dynasty 19
PERIOD
late New Kingdom
DIMENSIONS
5 5/16 x 5 7/8 x 5 11/16 in. (13.5 x 15 x 14.5 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
86.226.35
CREDIT LINE
Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
One wooden head of a man from a canopic jar representing Amset. Wearing smooth shoulder length wig leaving pierced ears exposed. Elongated eyes and narrow brows formerly inlaid. Nose and mouth finely formed. Originally painted. The remains of wig stripes, horizontal at top and falling vertically on sides.
Condition: Face very good. Gesso (?) in interior. Wood separation and cracks in several places. Chips gone from right cheek. Two parts gone front left and right front wig.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Canopic Jar Lid, ca. 1390â1185 B.C.E. Wood, 5 5/16 x 5 7/8 x 5 11/16 in. (13.5 x 15 x 14.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.35. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.86.226.35_erg456.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, CUR.86.226.35_erg456.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 10/21/2010
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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