Detail of a Canopic Jar in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2007

Canopic Jar
Dynasty 18, reign of Akhenaten, ca. 1353-1336 BC
Egyptian alabaster (calcite), obsidian, steatite (?), and colored-glass inlay
From Thebes, Valley of the Kings, KV 55

Accession # 07.226.1 and 30.8.54

Although this canopic jar was intended for a funerary context, the face on the lid was carved by a master with the skill and care one might expect in a more public portrait. Whatever the age of the owner at her death, she was given a youthful countenance for the eternal afterlife. The shape of the face, with its long slender nose, sloe eyes, and sensuous mouth identifies it as a product of the latter half of the Amarna period. The jar and lid were altered in antiquity, making it extremely difficult to identify the original owner.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.