Canopic jar lid Ancient Egypt, Middle Kingdom c. 2050 - 1750 BC DIMENSIONS: Height 9.2 cm. PROVENANCE: Private collection, Le Coudray, France. 1950- 1960. CONDITION: Good state, not restored, see photos. DESCRIPTION: The system of conservation of bodies through mummification, an essential rite in Egyptian funerary practices, called for the extraction of the human organs that, once dehydrated with natron, were placed in recipients in the form of jars, called canopic jars. From the time of the Old Kingdom, these jars were used in burials. They were closed with stoppers which in the beginning were plain ones, but in the Middle Kingdom acquired the form of human heads. From the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty the lids took on the form of the Four Sons of Horus, funerary gods responsible for the protection of the human organs. These four were the human-headed Imseti, protecting the liver; the baboon-headed Hapi, protecting the lungs; the jackal-headed god, Duamutef, protecting the stomach, and Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed god protecting the intestines. It is certain that this piece is one of a set of four human heads, as another piece identical to this one has appeared on the antiques market. Notes: - The piece includes authenticity certificate. - The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union) - If the piece is destined outside the European Union a substitution of the export permit should be requested, can take between 1-2 weeks maximum. - The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki. #ancientcivilisations