Canopic Jar of Amenhotep

CC0 Public Domain Designation

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New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep II (about 1427–1400 BCE)

Egyptian; Tomb A7, Dra Abu el-Naga, Thebes (now Luxor), Egypt

One of a set of four jars that belonged to Amenhotep, who oversaw architectural projects in the temple of Amun at Karnak (in present-day Luxor). Now empty, the jars once held Amenhotep’s liver, lungs, intestines, and stomach, which were removed during the mummification process. Each jar has a hand-sculpted stopper that may represent its owner or one of the four sons of Horus, a set of gods associated with these vital organs. An inscription in hieroglyphs on each container promises divine protection over its contents by a different goddess: Selket, Neith, Nephthys, or Isis.

Status: On View, Gallery 50
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Ancient Egyptian
Title: Canopic Jar of Amenhotep
Place: Egypt (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1427 BCE–1400 BCE
Medium: Ceramic and pigment
Inscriptions: Words spoken by Serket: “I place my arms on that which is in me, I protect the Imsety which is in me [of] the Overseer of the Builders of Amun, Amenhotep, revered by Imsety.”
Dimensions: a (jar): 31.7 × 19 × 18.4 cm (12 1/5 × 7 1/5 × 7 ¼ in.) b (lid): 12.7 × 13.3 × 14 cm (5 × 5 ¼ × 5 1/5 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
Reference Number: 1892.36a-b
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/127885/manifest.json

Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Art Institute of Chicago/University of Chicago Press, 1923), p. 19 (ill.), 20, 64, 156 n.
Nicholas Reeves, Egyptian Art at Eton College: Selections from the Myers Museum, exh. cat. (Metropolitan Museum of Art/Eton College, 1999), p. 24 [as Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago 92.36-39].
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago, by Karen Manchester (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2012), p. 21, fig. 5.
Nicholas Reeves, “Amenhotep, Overseer of the Builders of Amun: An Eighteenth-Dynasty Burial Reassembled,” Metropolitan Museum Journal 48, 1 (2013), p. 14, fig. 12.

The Art Institute of Chicago, Grave Goods from Ancient Cultures, Gallery 141, November 9, 1991 - May 17, 1992.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 154A, April 20, 1994 - February 6, 2012.
The Art Institute of Chicago, When the Greeks Ruled: Egypt After Alexander the Great, October 31, 2013 - July 27, 2014.
Art Institute of Chicago, Life and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, Feb. 11, 2022 - present.

The Art Institute of Chicago, acquired in Egypt, 1892; price reimbursed by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson, 1892.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.