Humanities 201
Hamdalat Ayanlaja
Humanities 201
Unit 1: Essay 1
(Late Period 664 B.C)
I chose to do my paper on a piece of art from the late middle ages called a Canopic jar. This is a handmade jar, made with stone, wood, and pottery. It is not a normal jar because the head of the jar is some type of unique animal. Pieces like these were made frequently from 712-600 BC to hold the internal organs of a dead person, whether they were royal or not. Then the canopic jar would be put into canopic boxes that were illuminated to resemble a coffin. This is similar to the 20th century because we cremate people, and put their remains in jars as well- so it’s basically the same thing except the Egyptian people did not burn their dead. These jars caught my interest because it was unique, and it’s similar to a lot of the things I see on television concerning the Egyptian times. Like in the movie, “The prince of Egypt” I saw little statues similar to these in the Pharaoh’s kingdom. During these times Egypt was a rich artistic atmosphere, as it still is today. The artists of these jars were trying to use these jars to promote royalty of the Gods, and to explain history of the Egyptian Gods. The heads of the jars are representative of the Sons of Horus. The sons of Horus were 4 Gods from the Egyptian beliefs in the times of 712-664 BC. When a person died, the person was usually wrapped and their body was left mummified. When the body was mummified, the organs were usually removed from the body- with the exception of the heart- and put into these jars. (The jars were placed next to the mummies.) Each son of Horus had a different jar that correlates to an organ. The canopic jar that I chose is Duamutef (the jackal), which is the jar meant to hold the stomach. The other 3 Gods from the Egyptian belief were: Imsety (the human) - who held the liver, Hapy (the baboon) - who held the lungs, and Qbeh-senu-ef (the falcon) - who held the intestines. Those were the only organs that the
Humanities 201
Unit 1: Essay 1
(Late Period 664 B.C)
I chose to do my paper on a piece of art from the late middle ages called a Canopic jar. This is a handmade jar, made with stone, wood, and pottery. It is not a normal jar because the head of the jar is some type of unique animal. Pieces like these were made frequently from 712-600 BC to hold the internal organs of a dead person, whether they were royal or not. Then the canopic jar would be put into canopic boxes that were illuminated to resemble a coffin. This is similar to the 20th century because we cremate people, and put their remains in jars as well- so it’s basically the same thing except the Egyptian people did not burn their dead. These jars caught my interest because it was unique, and it’s similar to a lot of the things I see on television concerning the Egyptian times. Like in the movie, “The prince of Egypt” I saw little statues similar to these in the Pharaoh’s kingdom. During these times Egypt was a rich artistic atmosphere, as it still is today. The artists of these jars were trying to use these jars to promote royalty of the Gods, and to explain history of the Egyptian Gods. The heads of the jars are representative of the Sons of Horus. The sons of Horus were 4 Gods from the Egyptian beliefs in the times of 712-664 BC. When a person died, the person was usually wrapped and their body was left mummified. When the body was mummified, the organs were usually removed from the body- with the exception of the heart- and put into these jars. (The jars were placed next to the mummies.) Each son of Horus had a different jar that correlates to an organ. The canopic jar that I chose is Duamutef (the jackal), which is the jar meant to hold the stomach. The other 3 Gods from the Egyptian belief were: Imsety (the human) - who held the liver, Hapy (the baboon) - who held the lungs, and Qbeh-senu-ef (the falcon) - who held the intestines. Those were the only organs that the