Funerary Chest of Irthorru

Funerary Chest of Irthorru   From Thebes, Egypt   Late Period, after 664 BC  ·      Inside the chest where the canopic jars containing embalmed internal organs ·      The wooden chest or stone chest was then placed in a tomb near the coffin or was placed in a special niche in the burial chamber ·      In Old and Middle Kingdoms the shape of the chest was a simple cubic shape which had flat or arched lids ·      The design of the chest changed at the start of the New Kingdom (1500 BC), the chest imitated the form of a holy place, with cavetto cornice and a leaning roof ·      The Funerary Chest of Irthorru was to small to place canopic jars, so Irthorru internal organs were simply wrapped in linen packages ·      The four sides of the chest are illustrated with scenes and engravings of rebirth and the protection the dead ·      At the front of the chest is a symbolic of the god Osiris   ·      At the front of the chest is a large size tilt sign, symbolic to the goddess Isis

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What does this aretfact tell us about Egyptian society?

The Funerary Chest of Irthorru tells us where the canopic jars of the pharaoh or a member of the pharaoh’s family were placed after their death, and how stones or wooden chests were designed. The canopic jars containing the internal organs were always placed in a stone or wooden chest. The canopic jars containing their organs were removed from the body as a step in mummification. The mummification jars where placed in the chest, as the Egyptians believed they helped preserve the jars. The chest was then often placed in a tomb near the coffin or was placed in a special niche in the burial chamber. In Old and Middle Kingdoms the shape of the chest was of a simple cubic shape, which was designed to have flat or arched lids. However, the design of the chest changed at the start of the New Kingdom (1500 BC), the chest imitated the design of a holy place, with cavetto cornice and a leaning roof. The British Museum 2015, Funerary chest of Irthorru, British Museum, London, accessed 7 May 2015, <http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/f/funerary_chest_of_irthorru.aspx>