Canopic Jar Lid Depicting Duamutef
Ramesside Period, c. 1295–1069 B.C.
Acquired by the Louvre in 1899 through Georges-Aaron Bénédite and the dealer Panayotis Kyticas. Now on long-term loan to the Musée de Picardie, Amiens. E 10837
▫ This finely modelled Canopic jar lid represents the jackal-headed deity Duamutef, one of the Four Sons of Horus charged with protecting the internal organs of the deceased during mummification.
Duamutef, associated with the stomach, was under the protection of the goddess Neith. His distinctive canine features (elongated snout and alert ears) are rendered here in vibrant faience, whose lustrous glaze ranges across tones of deep blue, green, violet, and red. Such colours were not merely decorative but evoked regeneration, divine protection, and the eternal qualities of the afterlife.
Originally fitted atop a Canopic jar, the lid sealed and safeguarded the organ it protected, forming part of a complete set placed within the tomb. The craftsmanship reflects the enduring funerary traditions of the Ramesside age, when belief in bodily preservation and divine guardianship remained central to Egyptian conceptions of the afterlife.
