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Collections Online Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Statuette of Canopic Jar with Head of Osiris

Artwork Tombstone
CultureEgyptian
TitleStatuette of Canopic Jar with Head of Osiris
Date50–150 CE
MediumBronze and lead
DimensionsObject: 4 7/8 × 1 1/2 × 1 5/8 in. (12.4 × 3.8 × 4.1 cm)
Overall: 4 7/8 × 1 1/2 × 1 5/8 in. (12.4 × 3.8 × 4.1 cm)
Credit LineBurton Y. Berry Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number76.20.3
This artwork is currently on view.
The body of this statuette is formed as a squat, ovoid vessel, but instead of rising to an opening it is topped with a man's head. The man as long beard extending from his chin and he wear a shoulder-length headdress topped by a crown with a disk, horns, feathers, and two rearing cobras. The vessel section is decorated with an engraved net pattern and other relief details including an altar at the center, a winged scarab below, and men standing on the sides.

The body of this statuette is formed as a squat, ovoid vessel, but instead of rising to an opening it is topped with a man's head. The man as long beard extending from his chin and he wear a shoulder-length headdress topped by a crown with a disk, horns, feathers, and two rearing cobras. The vessel section is decorated with an engraved net pattern and other relief details including an altar at the center, a winged scarab below, and men standing on the sides.

Canopus is an ancient coastal city, situated in the Nile River delta. It was a cult center for Osiris and, in the early Roman period, statuettes of Osiris were typically presented in a jar-like form with the head of the god. Made in a variety of materials, this type of statuette is often associated with temples and shrines. Eskenazi Museum of Art’s bronze example is especially fine. Osiris wears a nemes headdress and a feather crown with sun disk. His body is decorated with a shrine flanked by birds and figures and supported by a winged beetle.

Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Statuette of Canopic Jar with Head of Osiris | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=76.20.3