Synopsis
Despite their significance as part of the burial equipment, canopic items have hitherto received relatively little attention in the literature of Egyptology. This book documents and discusses all equipment made or used to contain the embalmed internal organs of the kings of ancient Egypt. While some containers were simple stone jars, many were objects of great artistic attainment, the high point perhaps being reached with the solid gold coffinettes of Tutankhamun and the gilded shrine that sheltered them. Such royal canopics are also of some historical import, one set of jars being key evidence of the existence of a new pharoah of the Third Intermediate Period. The book is divided into two parts. The first traces the mythological development of the various forms of container employed in kingly burials, with frequent reference to comparative material from the tombs of lesser members of the royal family and private individuals. The architectural arrangements made for the equipment are also commented upon and illustrated. In doing so, certain points of history and archaeology relating to royal burial are discussed in detail.
The arrangement of the section is chronological, individual chapters being devoted to each of the principal eras of ancient Egyptian history. The second part catalogues all known canopic items belonging to the kings of Egypt from the Fourth to the Twenty-Sixth Dynasties. Full details of material, dimensions, provenance, present location and bibliography are given. Photographs or drawings are provided for all significant pieces. Hand copies of all hieroglyphic texts are accompanied by translations, and a full concordance with museum excavator's numbers is given.
