Egypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 26 / 664–525 BCE
Canopic Jar with Falcon's Head
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Canopic Jar with Falcon's Head as funerary equipment (Egypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 26 · 664–525 BCE).
The falcon-headed deity Qebehsenuef protected the contents of this canopic jar. It contained the remains of the deceased's intestines, which were kept safe for the afterlife.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this funerary equipment as travertine.
The museum's collection notes: In the process of mummification, the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines were removed, separately embalmed, and stored in specialized jars known as canopic jars (after a sailor in Greek mythology, who died at the town of Canopus in the Nile Delta and was worshipped there in the form of a human-headed jar). Each organ was identified with one of four funerary deities collectively known as the Sons of Horus: the liver with Imsety (man's head), the lungs with Hapy (baboon's head), the stomach with Duamutef (jackal's head), and the intestines with Qebehsenuef (falcon's head). It was their duty to protect the deceased and restore to him his body
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtCanopic Jar with Falcon's HeadOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.