WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
The canopic shrines stand six and a half feet tall. First a frame with four hieroglyphic inscribed posts surrounds the outer shrine, topped by gilded and painted cobras crowned with gold sun disks. Standing on the sledge four protective goddesses, Selket, Nephthys, Neith and Isis each spread their arms to protect one side of the shrine.
Inside that shrine was another shrine carved of alabaster to hold the four canopic jars.
An additional free standing Selket statue is a special treat since the bodies of the four protective goddesses all face the shrine. Selket is stunning entirely in gold—her eyes and brows are lined with black, a cloth headdress supports a scorpion, and her body is sensuously draped with a pleated linen dress
Inside that shrine was another shrine carved of alabaster to hold the four canopic jars.
An additional free standing Selket statue is a special treat since the bodies of the four protective goddesses all face the shrine. Selket is stunning entirely in gold—her eyes and brows are lined with black, a cloth headdress supports a scorpion, and her body is sensuously draped with a pleated linen dress
WHAT IS IT MADE OUT OF?
The shrine made of wood overlaid with a layer of gesso and covered with sheet gold. The wooden sledge is overlaid with silver. The scenes and inscriptions must have been worked on the gold itself; the gold sheets are put face downward on a flat surface and covered with a piece of linen; the gesso in a liquid state would have been poured on the back of the linen so that it filled the depressions on the reverse side of the gold and, while it was still soft, the second piece of linen would have been applied to the outer surface. The purpose of the gesso would thus have been to give support to the decoration on the gold and to provide a flat surface for attachment to the wooden walls, roof, and door. Very often, canopic equipment was made from calcite (Egyptian alabaster).
WHAT WAS IT USED FOR?
Canopic chests, and particularly canopic jars, represent some of the most beautiful artwork of the ancient Egyptians. They were used to contain the internal organs of individuals removed during the process of mummification. The most common form was four jars held within a chest, but canopic equipment could comprise, at times, miniature coffins and masks.
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?
Tutankhamun's small shrine is in the form of the sanctuary of Nekhbet mounted on a sledge.
On the outer faces of the door are representations of incidents in the daily life of the king and queen, arranged in three panels on each door. The uppermost panel on the left had door shows the queen in a plumed headdress standing with hands upraised before the king, who hold in his right hand the crook and scepter and in his left a lapwing. IIn the bottom panels, on the left side, the queen holds the king's arm with both hands and, on the right, the king's hand with her left hand, while extending a blue lotus and buds toward him in her right hand.
The canopic shrine was used to both depict the life of Tutankkhamun as well as used for storage for objects such as the canopic jars.
On the outer faces of the door are representations of incidents in the daily life of the king and queen, arranged in three panels on each door. The uppermost panel on the left had door shows the queen in a plumed headdress standing with hands upraised before the king, who hold in his right hand the crook and scepter and in his left a lapwing. IIn the bottom panels, on the left side, the queen holds the king's arm with both hands and, on the right, the king's hand with her left hand, while extending a blue lotus and buds toward him in her right hand.
The canopic shrine was used to both depict the life of Tutankkhamun as well as used for storage for objects such as the canopic jars.