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The Canopic Chest of Her-ib.s-n.s from Luxor Museum Magazine

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 The Canopic Chest of Her-ib.s-n.s from Luxor Museum Magazine

Khaled Abuel Hassan 

1. Documentation:

The Box that will be discussed is made of Wood and Plaster,

painted. Its original provenance is unknown: may be it is Thebes. But
now It is kept in Luxor museum magazine1 No° 808.

2. Description and Measurements:

It is a Tall square box with inclined sides, resting on a projecting

bottom and Flat Lid. The box had been broken into two parts and
preserved. Every side have a figure of one of Horus four sons, stands and
holds wAst-scepter with two hands. the front side was represented
Duamutef, the jackal headed son of Horus. The most height, 37cm - the
lowest height 35cm – the width 39.5cm – the thickness 0.2cm. while the
back side was represented Imsety, the human headed son of Horus. The
most height 37cm - the lowest height 36.9cm – the width 40cm. On the
right side, there was Hapy, the baboon headed son of Horus. The most
height 36.9cm - the lowest height 33.2cm – width 37.1cm. finally the
left side was represented Qebehsenuef, the hawk headed son of Horus.
The most height 37.1cm - the lowest height 34cm – width 35.9cm. The
lid has curved surface. The most height 38.9cm - the lowest height
38.3cm – The most width 39.5cm – the lowest width 38.5cm - the most
thickness 2.4cm - the lowest thickness 0.5cm.
The inscribed surface of the front (a) and back (b) sides, and five
columns of the Lid is well preserved, but The inscribed surface of the
right(c) and left(d) sides is badly damaged. The ground color is white,
while the color of figures' faces and hands is green and their corps color
is red (pls. 1-5).

3. Technique:
The sides and bottom of the box have each of several boards.
Front and back overlap have two sides. They are fastened by wooden
pegs driven in slantingly. The bottom of it is fitted into interior and
fastened by pegs. Slats fastened on, each by three pegs (one is in the end
and another one is in the middle).The Outside was covered with Coat of
plaster. Cracks between boards were filled with plaster. The Lid must

 Lecturer at the Faculty of Archaeology, Qena, Dept. of Egyptology, South Valley University.
1
I am grateful to Ms. Thanaa, Mrs. Samia, and Mr.Waziery for their helping to have permission to
publish this Box.
have been set down over the rim and was pegged to the high side of rim
by three pegs (two are in one end and one in the other end). The outer
surface of the box was covered with plaster, while the interior surface is
without any painting or plaster.

4. Inscriptions:

The ancient Writer wrote funerary texts on the four sides and on
the Lid using cursive Hieroglyphic, which often used in writing on the
papyrus for the religious texts; mainly for the book of the dead. The
texts contain prayer to the four sons of Horus, each side of the box
includes a text for one of those gods. The Lid contains a text, in which the
Gods Inpw and Osiris with their titles are mentioned.

4.1. The texts on the sides:

On every side there are four vertical columns of hieroglyphic texts
as follows:
4.1.1. On the Front side (A):

Dd mdw hA nb(t) pr hr-ib.s-n.s ink _wA-mwt.f ink sA.k @r mr.k ii.n.i nD.n.i
it.i nkn.f di.i
(1)Words spoken !, O Housewife2, Her-ib.s-n.s, (2) I am Duamutef, I am
son of Horus3, thy beloved. (3) I came and protected (4) my father from
him who would harm4 (you), I give !.

2
Ward (1982: 99, 823 )
3
wb I, 444, 14.
4.1.2. On the back side (B):

Dd mdw in h(A) nbt pr hr-ib.s-n.s mAa(t) xrw [I]msti ink Imsti ink
sA.k wsir mAa xrw(k) ii.n.i wnn.i m sA.k srwD pr.k mn sp 2 m HD
(1)Words spoken by!, O housewife, Her-ib.s-n.s, (2) justified, Amset, I
am Amset, I am your son, (3) Osiris, true is your voice, I came to be (4) in
your protection (to) restore5 your house firmly twice in the day light.

4.1.3. On the right side (C):

4
Who is going to harm Osiris?. He is Set the murderer of Osiris, somehow the son who worships his
mother Isis is able to assist in overcoming Set, or he is Apophis the serpent demon who prevents the
suns passage. Either way Duamutef through his worship of Isis has the power to protect the deceased
from harm.

5
Faulkner (1999: 236).
Dd mdw in [h]A nb[t pr hr-ib.s-n.s] mAa(t) xrw ink sA.T ii.n.i r mAA.t iw
inp sxr xsfw.Tn s .t n dwA nfrw.t
(1)Words spoken !, O housewife, Her-ib.s-n.s, (2) justified. I am your
son, I come to see (3).. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..throw down (4) your enemies .. .. ..
to venerate your beauty.

4.1.4. On the left side (D):

Dd mdw hA nb(t) pr hr-ib.s-n.s mAa(t) xrw ink QbH-snw.f ink sA.T mr.t
wnn.i m sA.T Hr swD.t ra nb ……
(1)Words spoken, O housewife, Her-ib.s-n.s, justified (2) I am
Qebhsenuef, I am your son, your beloved. (3) I exist in your protection to
safe you(4) every day ……

4.2. The texts on the lid:

On the Lid, there are five vertical columns texts, the Inscription on
the first and second vertical columns from left to right, those on third,
fourth, and fifth from right to left as follows:
 (5) (4) (3) (1) (2)

4.2.1.Column (1):
Dd mdw in Inpw imy wt nb &A-Dsr di.f Htpwt nbw(t)
Words spoken by Anubis who is in the place of embalming, lord of the
Sacred Land (the necropolis6), may he give every Offerings.

4.2.2. Column (2):

Dd mdw in wsir nb +dw di.f H(tp)wt nbwt
Words spoken by Osiris, lord of Busiris7, may he give every Offerings.

4.2.3. Column (3):

Dd mdw in nbt pr h(r)-ib.s-n.s mAa(t) xrw sAt nTr-imn-anx (?)
Words spoken by housewife, Her-ib.s-n.s, justified, daughter of Nether-
Amun- Ankh (?)

4.2.4. On the Second columns from left

Dd mdw in Inpw xnty [sH-nTr] di.f xt nfrt wabt nbt
Words spoken by Anubis who is in gods booth, may he give every good
and pure things.
4.2.5. On the First columns from left:
Dd mdw in wsir xnty imntyw nTr aA nb AbDw di.f
Words spoken by Osiris, formost of the westerners, lord of Abydos, may
he gives.

6
Anciently the whole necropolis seems to have been called Ta-djeser (&A-Dsr), cf. Beckerath 1975: 34.
7
The two places distinctively associated with Osiris are "Abydos" and "Busiris", cf. Arnold 1982: 626;
Sethe 1907: 28
5. General commentary:

5-1- Canopic chests and Jars:

According to ancient Writers, the Greek hero, kanopos, helmsman

of Menelaos, was worshipped at canopus (Abukir, known as Pikuat to the
ancient Egyptians) in the form of a human-head ear, being regarded as a
form of Osiris8. The earliest canopic equipment consisted of simple
chests, or building cavity in the wall where wrapped visceral bundles
were placed. The earliest canopic niches in burial chambers may have
held wooden boxes, but by the end of the 4th Dynasty, organs were
sometimes placed inside simple stone or pottery jars, with flat or domed
lids. The canopic chests which held the jars were cut from soft stone, or
carved from the actual wall or floor of the tomb9.

The canopic Jars were usually made of alabaster or limestone, and

contained the viscera which removed from the cavities of the body during
mummification. They were placed in the burial chamber of the tomb, near
the coffin. In the Middle Kingdom, the Lids became human-headed, and
from the Ramessid Period, they began to be made in the form of the
heads of the four Sons of Horus. The texts on it placed each one under
the protection of a godness10.

All thoracic and viscera were removed via an incision in the flank,
save the heart, sometime, the kidneys11. The brain was also removed12,
but the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines were all embalmed and
accompanied the body to the tomb. Each organ was traditionally
identified with one of the four sons of Horus, respectively with Imseti,
Hapy, Duamutef and Qebehsenuef,; each was in turn under the tutelage of
one of four godness, Isis, Nephtys, Neth, and Selqet 13.

Each organ was placed either in its own jar, in a corner of a

rectangular box, or a combination of the two. From the first intermediate
Period onwards, some organs bundles bore human masks, the jars
themselves affecting stoppers with human heads after the beginning of
the Middle Kingdom. At the same time, jars and chests acquire formulaic

8
Martin 1980 : 315-6 ; Dodson 1999: 1.
9
For a discussion of canopic chests in general see: Dobrowolska 1970: 74-85; Aston 2000: 159-178;
Lüscher 1990
10
Baines & Málek 1980: 221
11
Smith & Dawson 1924: 146.
12
Op. cit. : 75, 81, 82, 89), during the New Kingdom some high-status, fully eviscerated, bodies
retained their brains (cf. Harris & Weeks 1973: 142)
13
Smith 1906: 45-9
texts proclaiming the protection given by the genii and goddess to the
contained organs14.

During the New Kingdom, human heads began to be replaced by

the four son of Horus, the liver-jar had Imsety's human head, the Lungs
Hapy's baboon visage, the stomach the jackal of Duamutef and the
intestines the falcon head of Qebehsenuef. These remain the classic
associations, although during the Third Intermediate Period some
confusion of heads between each of the "Sons" is found, particularly on
coffins and canopics. Thus, in the Twenty-second/third Dynasties,
Duamutef and Qebehsenuef can swap heads , as can the former and
Hapy15. While jars and a box of wood or stone form the classic elements
of a canopic outfit, many variations exist; thus , the term "canopic
equipment" covers chambers, niches, pits, shrines, and miniature coffins
as well as jars and chests.

During the 25th Dynasty and Saite period, the text once more was
changed. There was formulation and the text varied according to which
deities were invoked. The jar's shapes also tended to become more
rotund, with the widest sections lower then in prior examples. However,
they all seem to bear the faunal four sons of Horus heads, there was
apparently a brief reversion back to the human heads during the 27 th
Dynasty, but we do not possess enough evidence to say that there was any
trend in this regard16.

5-3- Cursive hieroglyphs:

Cursive hieroglyphs are a variety of Egyptian hieroglyphs

commonly used for religious documents written on papyrus, such as the
Book of the dead. It was particularly common during the Ramesside
period and many famous documents, such as Papyrus of Ani. It was also
employed on wood for religious literature such as the Coffin Texts.
Cursive hieroglyphs can not be confused with hieratic since Hieratic is
much more cursive, having large numbers of ligatures and signs unique
only to hieratic.17

14
Many of these spells were collected by kurt sethe, cf. Sethe 1934.
15
Taylor 1990: 225.

16
For a discussion of canopic chests in general see: Dobrowolska 1970: 74-85; Aston 2000: 159-178;
Lüscher 1990.

17
Davies 1990: 74 ff.; Cruz-uribe, Eugene 2001: 192ff.
5-4- The front side:

• About the the owner's name of the box mentioned Ranke: " Neu ist es
auch, daß von der Gottheit gesagt wird, sie sei "zufrieden" hr-bzw. Hr-ib-
und hr-tj,"vortrefflich"18 this gives us the indication that the name belongs
to the late period; as for it was found as males name on garnet statue from
karnak from late period, so hr-ib.s-n.f ,meaning “she is satisfied
19
with him” , and found as females name on stela from serapeum of
memphis from 26 dynasty, reign of Apis I20 , so hr-ib.s-n.s,
21
meaning that: she is satisfied with her .

• At the end of the text of this side we find di.i which needs to be
completed by other word, probably refers to the space.

• Duamutef, jackal-headed Canopic deity, one of the four Sons of Horus,

protected the stomach of the deceased which was placed in the canopic
jar, near the sarcophagus, on the east cardinal point, and was in turn
protected by the goddess Neith. As one of the four pillars of Shu and one
of the four rudders of heaven he was associated with the East. His name
means literally 'he who worships his mother', may be his name means "he
who praises his mother" or "a star is his mother"22.

5-5-The Back side:

• It is remarkable that the name of the god [I]msti was repeated twice
which has no meaning, perhaps to fill the space.

• Imsety: Human-headed canopic deity, one of the Four Sons of Horus,

protected the liver of the deceased, which was placed in the canopic jar,
near the sarcophagus, on the south cardinal point, and was in turn
protected by the goddess Isis. It seems that his role was to help revivify
the corpse of the dead person. As one of the four pillars of Shu and one of
the four rudders of heaven he was associated with the South23.

18
Ranke 1952: 244
19
Ranke 1935: 230, 16.
20
Chassinat 1922 : 169, XCIV; Ranke 1935: 230, 17.
21
We notice here that Ranke used the pronoun "mir" the dative for the first person, but the dative in the
name is for the third person fem.!. see: Ranke 1935: 230, 17,
22
About his name and its meaning see: Leitz, 2002: vol. VII, 516ff; Kákosy 1969: 65-68; Lüscher
1998: 58-65; 108-110.
23
Leitz 2002: vol. I , 367ff; Kahl 1992: 108
5-6-The right side:

• It is noticeable that (in) after the expression Dd mdw in the beginning of

the right side has nothing to do in this text because we expect the agent
after it if necessary, but it seems to be used to fill space.

• It could be suggested that the dameged part in the first colmun contains
the name of the owner of box as follows: [h]A nb[t pr hr-ib.s-n.s]

• It is remarkable that, while Hapy was represented on this side, its name
has not been written in the text. Hapy: the baboon-headed canopic deity,
one of the Four Sons of Horus, protected the lungs of the deceased and
was in turn protected by the goddess Nephthys. The original name
probably meant "The Two Geese", which would suggest that there may
have been two gods. As one of the four pillars of Shu and one of the four
rudders of heaven he was associated with the North 24.

5-7-The left Side:

• Qebehsenuef : Falcon-headed canopic deity, one of the four Sons of

Horus, protected the intestines of the deceased and was in turn protected
by the goddess Serqet. His name means "he who refreshes [with water]
his brothers", it seems that his role was to refresh the dead person. As one
of the four pillars of Shu and one of the four rudders of heaven, he was
associated with the West25.

• it is difficult to read the writing on fourth column because of the badly

damage.

5-8- The lid:

• The writing on the first and second vertical columns from left to right,
those on third, fourth, and fifth from right to left.

• There is a symmetry in the method of writting of the inscriptions on the

Lid. The middest (third column) dedicated to the owner of the Box, while
the inscriptions on the right and left (first, fourth columns) dedicated to
Anupis, while the inscriptions on the two edgs (second, fifth columns)
dedicated to Osiris.

24
Leitz 2002: vol. I , 367ff
25
Lüscher 1998: 58-65; 108-110; his name means: der seinen Brüdern (Wasser) spendet, cf. Leitz,
2002: VII, 180 ff
•As in my opinion Htpwt that inscribed on the first column, was written
because the writers want to fill the space, or it is a form of writing plural
in Egyptian.

• The name of the owner's father nTr-imn-anx, is not mentioned by

Ranke; he reads nTr-anx(.w) “der Gott lebt”26 .

•At the end of the text of the fifth columns, we find di.f , which needs to
be completed by other word, probably refers to the space. Compare with
the similar at the end of front side.

6. Conclusion:

We had been studied here a canonic chest, and a number of results

can be drawn from the evidence presented in the previous pages as
follows:

 The box is made of wood and plaster, painted.

 It is a tall square box with inclined sides, resting on a projecting
bottom and flat Lid.
 On every side there is a figure of one of four sons of Horus, stands and
holds wAst-scepter with two hands.
 The texts on the four sides and on the Lid is cursive Hieroglyphic
contains prayer to the four sons of Horus, Gods Inpw and Osiris with
their titles are mentioned.

7. Dating:

We can not expect the exact date of this box, but we are quite sure
that it goes to the late period, dues to the following Criteria:
 The method of writing of the owner's name of the box gives the
indication that the name belongs to the late period; as for it was found
as males name on a statue from karnak from late period, and found as
females name on stela from serapeum of memphis from 26 dynasty,
reign of Apis I.
 The representation of four sons of Horus on the four sides of box and
the texts gives the indication that the box belongs to the late period.

26
Ranke(1935- 1977: 240,10)
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Wb I, 1926. Leipzig
Pl. 1: front side. Duamutef, the jackal headed son of Horus

Pl. 2, Back side. Imsety, the human headed son of Horus

 Pl. 3, Right side. Hapy, the baboon headed son of Horus

Pl. 4, Left side. Qebehsenuef, the hawk headed son of Horus

 Pl . 5, the Lid. five vertical lines Texts

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