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Published & Exhibited: Eric Gubel (ed.), Egypte onomwonden. Egyptische oudheden van het Museum Vleeshuis, Museum Vleeshuis, Antwerp, Belgium, 13 October 1995-14 January 1996, no. 102, illustrated.
Carved in two parts, the hollowed jar with broad rounded shoulders tapering gently toward the narrow flat base, the separately carved lid in the form of the human-headed Imsety, one of the Four Sons of Horus and guardian of the liver. His rounded face is framed by a smooth broad wig leaving the large ears exposed, with almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, and full lips drawn into a subtle smile. The vessel is deeply hollowed, the interior preserving extensive ancient chisel marks.
Provenance: The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C., USA, before 1983. The private collection of Marcel Aernout, Hamme, Belgium. With Galerie Harmakhis, Brussels, Belgium. With Martin Doustar, Brussels, Belgium. Galerie Harmakhis was founded in 1988 in the Sablon by Jacques Billen (b. 1960), a specialist in ancient Egyptian art. A graduate of the Université Catholique de Louvain in History of Art and Archaeology, Oriental Philology, and History, Billen offers through the gallery a selection of Egyptian antiquities alongside classical works and, occasionally, objects from the ancient Near East. Martin Doustar is a Brussels-based art dealer and collector whose career spans more than two decades. He began his professional journey in the early 2000s with a focus on Modern Art, developing a keen interest in the ways early twentieth-century artists were influenced by ‘primitive’ art from Africa and Oceania. Over time, his connoisseurship expanded into archaeological and ethnographic fields, with particular expertise in the ancient arts of the Pacific, Africa, and pre-Columbian America, while also encompassing Asian material culture and modern masterpieces. He is the author of numerous scholarly catalogs and has organized thematic exhibitions on a wide range of subjects.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear and weathering, with scattered small chips and nicks, and minor losses. The surface with scattered encrustations. A small chip to the edge of the lid reattached.
Weight: 8.4 kg
Dimensions: Height 36 cm
Canopic jars contained internal organs removed from the body during the mummification process. The jars came in sets of four, one each for the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines. The present example depicts Imsety, guardian of the liver, wearing a wide wig leaving his ears exposed.
Imsety was one of the Four Sons of Horus, divine guardians in Egyptian funerary belief. He was depicted with a human head and entrusted with the protection of the liver of the deceased. Unlike his brothers with animal forms, his human appearance stressed closeness to mankind. Imsety was under the protection of Isis, linking him to healing, motherhood, and the myth of Osiris’s resurrection. He was also connected to the south, forming part of the sons’ role as cosmic protectors of the four directions. In funerary texts, he is invoked to preserve vitality and rebirth, ensuring the liver remained unharmed for use in the afterlife. Through this role, Imsety embodied divine care, protection, and renewal within Egyptian religion.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related limestone and painted canopic jar with human-headed lid representing Imsety, 26th Dynasty, 664-525 BC, 28 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA, object number 12.183.1a.1, .2. Compare a closely related limestone canopic jar with human-headed lid representing Imsety, 26th Dynasty, circa 600 BC, 23.5 cm high, in the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, object number 1906.14.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 12 October 2021, lot 109
Price: USD 62,500 or approx. EUR 67,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian alabaster canopic jar, Late Period, 26th Dynasty, 664-525 BC
Expert remark: Compare the related 26th Dynasty dating, form, and human-headed Imsety lid. Note the different alabaster medium and larger size (43.9 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 25 October 2007, lot 35
Price: GBP 20,900 or approx. EUR 42,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian painted limestone canopic jar with lid, Dynasty XXVI, 664-525 BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related limestone medium, 26th Dynasty dating, form, and human-headed Imsety lid. Note the painted hieroglyphic inscription and slightly smaller size (30.5 cm).
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