This is a canopic jar belonging to a woman called Hathor who lived around 3000 years ago in a place called Sidmant near the Faiyum in Egypt. She was a Chantress of Herishef, and there was a temple to Herishef nearby in Heracleopolis Magna (modern Beni Suef).
Most canopic jars that I’ve seen have been a white stone, alabaster or limestone, so this one is quite striking in its bright blue colour. The lid looks like it is in better shape than the jar itself, which has been reconstructed (in the 1920s) and touched up with plaster.
The human head on this jar means that it was to…
