Tutankhaman and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs

Canopic Stopper of Tutankhamun

Canopic jars, or vessels that hold the mummy’s embalmed vital organs, are usually found in royal tombs. The intestines, lungs, stomach, and liver were each held in a separate jar. The four jars were placed into a chest that was inscribed with spells to protect the deceased. This canopic stopper represents the head of a king and would have been the lid of a canopic jar.

Facial details, such as the eyebrows, nostrils, eyes, and mouth, have been painted in red and black onto the white calcite stone. The figure, possibly Tutankhamun, wears the nemes headdress with a hooded cobra and vulture on his forehead. The combination of cobra and vulture is a symbol specifically associated with King Tutankhamun. While it is uncertain if the carved head of this stopper represents King Tutankhamun or another ruler of Egypt, the carved head shows a figure of power and royalty.

Canopic Stopper of Tutankhamun
Painted calcite
Dynasty 18, reign of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.)
Thebes, Valley of the Kings, tomb of Tutankhamun