Canopic Jar with Lid

1540–1296 BCE

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Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18

Diameter: 23 cm (9 1/16 in.); Diameter of mouth: 10.6 cm (4 3/16 in.); Overall: 48.4 cm (19 1/16 in.)

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1914.630

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Did You Know?

Canopic jars are named after the Greek sailor Canopus, who was said to be buried at Canopus (Abuqir) in the western Nile delta and worshipped there in the form of a human-headed jar that was actually a form of Osiris and had nothing to do with internal organs. But the term has stuck.

Description

Embellished tulle strips delicately wrap around the length of the Dior gown like linen covering a mummified body. As European artists in the 1800s who journeyed to Egypt drew what they saw, for the Dior collection he designed, John Galliano sketched his experiences in Egypt to develop this theatrical collection, merging additional inspirations of medical bandages and fetish fashion. In ancient Egypt, mummification was the most sacred practice performed. Rituals, such as removing organs and placing them in canopic jars, like the one here, and wrapping bodies and putting them in coffins, helped ensure the deceased’s safe passage into the afterlife.