Alabaster

Canopic chest of King Tutankhamun

Canopic Chest of King Tutankhamun

This alabaster canopic chest of Tutankhamun is considered to be one of the finest masterpieces of King Tut’s collection. The interior of the chest is divided into four compartments, each with a cylindrical hollow covered by a lid elegantly carved in the form of the king’s head. At the four corners of the chest, carved...

Osiris Canopus Jar

Osiris Canopic Jar

A Canopic jar with the head of Osiris emerging from it. In the cult of Isis and Serapis, during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Osiris Canopus jars (also known Osiris-Hydreios) were carried by priests during processions. As they are solid, each symbolically carried water from the Nile, fertility that originated from the god Osiris, one...

Tutankhamun's Ointment Jar Surmounted by a Lion

Tutankhamun’s Ointment Jar Surmounted by a Lion

This cylindrical alabaster jar, used as an unguent or perfume container, is a masterpiece of unusual form and design. The lid is adorned with the figure of a small lion, its mouth open and an ivory tongue sticking out. Around the jar are scenes of lions and dogs hunting bulls and gazelles, incised and stained...

Table for Libations or Offerings

Table for Libation or Offerings

Sculpted from an alabaster block, this altar was used either as a sacrificial altar or a libation table. It is decorated with the forms of two lions, whose front and back paws are beautifully defined. The altar slopes downward towards a circular basin, around which the tails of the lions are curled. Magical offering formulas...

Alabaster Heb Sed Vase

Alabaster Heb Sed Vase

This alabaster vase is connected with the Heb Sed festival, during which the king would repeat his coronation rituals by sitting on the thrones of Upper and Lower Egypt – seen here at the base of the handle. These thrones were within a pavilion on a stepped platform that symbolized the primeval mound of creation....