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Home , Canopic chest, Duamutef, Qebehsenuef

The Canopic Box of N%-aA-rw_ (BM EA 8539) *

By Ahmed M. Mekawy Ouda

Primary publication of the canopic box of Ns-aA-rwd, perhaps from Thebes dating to late Twenty- fifth/early Twenty-sixthD ynasties. No exact parallels exist for the texts on this box, which bears some unique epithets and unusual extensive formulations for the four protective goddesses, invoking a close relationship with and , especially for and . The box’s owner, title, family, and status, as well as textual parallels for deities’ titles and epithets, are discussed.

In the collections of the British Museum, there is a painted wooden canopic chest belonging to Ns-aA-rwd, in the form of a Pr-wr shrine with inclined roof (BM EA 8539; fig. 1).1 The museum acquired it as part of Henry Salt’s first collection, which arrived in London in 1821 and was accessioned in 1823. Each side displays a scene in which one of the four protective goddesses, Isis, , Neith, and Selkis, are making a libation for one of the sons of Horus on the right, with four columns of hieroglyphic inscriptions on the left (fig. 2). The box (H. 44.5 cm, W. 45 cm, and D. 42 cm ) is in good condition apart from three fragmented lines on the sides of the box pertaining to Neith, Nephthys, and Isis, and a break in the sloping lid on the Nephthys side. Its provenance was not recorded, but the title of the owner (‘Singer in the interior (of the Temple) of ’) suggests it came from Thebes. Additionally, the bulk of Henry Salt’s collection was acquired in Thebes by Giovanni Battista Belzoni and then Yanni Athanasi.2 This type of canopic box has been dated, on stylistic and typological grounds, to the first half of the seventh centurybc .3 J. Taylor dates this type to the late Twenty-fifth/early Twenty-sixthD ynasties; the alternating yellow and white columns of the hieroglyphic inscriptions are also characteristic of this period.4 Its owner is Ns-aA-rwd (written once as NA.s aA rwd), daughter of Wsrkn. The name occurs five times, once on each side and once on the lid. The sign ,5 which appears before rwd in her name, does not seem to be essential, because it is omitted on the lid. Although her name is not registered in Ranke,6 the masculine form NA.f aA rd 7 is found

* I am grateful to R. Parkinson and J. Taylor of the Department of and the Sudan at the British Museum for their permission to publish the canopic box and for their help. I am also thankful to S. Quirke for his help in publishing this paper , and to the editors and anonymous referees of the JEA. 1 d. A. Aston, ‘Canopic Chests from the Twenty-First Dynasty to the Ptolemaic Period’, Ä&L 10 (2000), 160–1, pl. 2. 2 d. Manley and P. Rée, Henry Salt: Artist, Traveller, Diplomat, Egyptologist (London, 2001), 201. 3 aston, Ä&L 10, 160–1, 178, pl. 2. 4 J. Taylor, personal communication, September 2010. 5 a. H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar (3rd edn; Oxford, 1957), sign-list V4. 6 Ranke, PN I, 212. 7 Ranke, PN I, 170.18; II, 364.

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 98 (2012), 127–38 ISSN 0307-5133 128 Ahmed M. Mekawy Ouda JEA 98 on a Twenty-sixth Dynasty limestone stela,8 as well as being the name of the first king of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty, Nepherites I.9 The name of her father, Osorkon, is not a common name in Thebes during the late Twenty-fifth/early Twenty-sixthD ynasties,10 however, an Osorkon, Priest of , is named as the father of &A-Srit-n-Ist, lady of the house, on her coffins CG 41037 11 and CG 41065-66.12 These coffins can be dated, on stylistic grounds, to around 625–600 bc.13 It is, therefore, quite possible that box EA 8539 could date to the same period.

Fig. 1. Technical drawing of BM 8539 (courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum).

Parallels As is typical with Late Period canopic boxes, EA 8539 does not have internal compartments; no canopic jars survive, but these may also be absent in intact sets from this period.14 Comparing Dodson, Reisner, and Sethe,15 there are no exact parallels

8 e. Chassinat, ‘Textes provenant du Sérapéum de Memphis’, RT 22 (1900), 170. 9 J. von Beckerath, Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen (MÄS 20; Mainz, 1984), 280. 10 Ranke, PN I, 87.2; F. L. Griffith,A ‘ Tourist’s Collections of Fifty Years Ago’, JEA 3 (1916), 195, pl. 34.7. 11 M. A. Moret, Sarcophages de l’époque bubastite à l’époque saïte (CGC 41001–41; Cairo, 1913), 301–7, 310, 312 (no. 41037); cf. Moret, Sarcophages, 290–1, 294, 297 (CGC no. 41035). 12 M. H. Gauthier, Cercueils anthropoïdes des prêtres de Montou (CGC Nos 41042–72; Cairo, 1913), 430–5, 443–7, 449, 450–5, 457 (no. 41065), 462–4 (no. 41066); Gauthier dated the first coffin to the Twenty-second Dynasty and the second to the pre-Saite Period. 13 J. Taylor, personal communication, March 2011. 14 B. Lüscher, Untersuchungen zu ägyptischen Kanopenkästen vom Alten Reich bis zum Ende der Zweiten Zwischenzeit (HÄB 31; Hildesheim, 1990), 7. 15 a. Dodson, The Canopic Equipment of the Kings of Egypt (London, 1993), 143–83; G. A. Reisner, Canopics (CGC Nos 4001–740 and 4977–5033; Cairo, 1967); K. Sethe, Zur Geschichte der Einbalsamierung bei den Ägyptern und einiger damit verbundener Bräuche (Berlin, 1934), 1*–16*. 2012 The Canopic Box of N%-aA-rw_ 129 for the texts on EA 8539. The closest comparison is with the canopic box of Ns-xnsw CG 4737, found at Thebes and dated to the first half of the seventh century bc.16 CG 4737 represents the on each side being purified by one of the four goddesses, with three or four columns of inscriptions on each side, but placed in front of the deities (though the distinctive texts of EA 8539 are not present).17 Nephthys purifies , Isis purifies Amsety, Neith purifies , and Selkis pours water over .18 another canopic box, CG 5028, presents on each side a scene with the sons of Horus, but without a purification motif. Six lines of hieroglyphic inscriptions pertaining to the protection of the deceased accompany each son of Horus.19 a third parallel, the canopic box of PA-di-Imnt at Luxor Museum J 75, was found at Deir el-Bahari (dated to the Twenty-second Dynasty),20 but the maternal grandfather,

Fig. 2. The canopic box of Ns-aA-rwd (courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum).

16 aston, Ä&L 10, 177. 17 Reisner, Canopics, 371–3 (no. 4737). 18 Reisner, Canopics, 372–3. 19 Reisner, Canopics, 402 (no. 5028). 20 J. F. Romano, The Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art (Cairo, 1979), 170 (no. 263), fig. 141. 130 Ahmed M. Mekawy Ouda JEA 98 King Takeloth III,21 dates it to the end of the eighth century bc or the first half of the seventh century,22 and so closer to the date of EA 8539. Here the four goddesses each pour water over one of sons of Horus, and the scene is in the middle of each side, with a column of hieroglyphic inscriptions on each side. In this example, the lid names the owner of the box, his family background, and titles. Three other canopic boxes of the same type, CG 4734–6,23 were found at Thebes and are datable to the first half of the seventh century bc, although they do not have the same scenes or texts of EA 8539.24 A fourth parallel is a fragment from el-Qurna, which dates to the Late Period/Ptolemaic Period. It bears just one scene showing Nephthys pouring water on Qebehsenuef, not Hapi.25 The hieroglyphic inscriptions are behind Nephthys.26 The traces behind Qebehsenuef are not clear. In conclusion, these parallels, excepting the last one, date the British Museum box to seventh century bc Thebes.

Description Lid (fig. 3) The lid is fragmented in the middle and on the right, being thicker at one end. Two holes in the edges of the lower right side and upper left side perhaps secured the lid of the box. A hieroglyphic text runs from the raised edge down the middle of the lid. There is a two-line border in blue on either side of the inscription. The text is written in black on a yellow background:                       .    Wsir Hs(t) Xn(w)-Imn Ns-aA-rwd sAt n Wsrkn The Osiris, Singer in the interior (of the Temple) of Amun, Ns-aA-rwd, daughter of Osorkon. This is the only reference to any other family members on the box. The title of Ns-aA-rwd — which also occurs abbreviatedly as ‘Singer in the interior (of the Temple)’ — indicates her elite temple position, participating in rituals by singing and shaking the sistrum.27 Women who held this title, which is associated with Karnak, were the daughters or sisters of the kings, mayors, governors, and high priests,28 and it was often held by a ‘God’s Wife of Amun’.29 In the Twenty-second Dynasty, Karoma,

21 d. A. Aston and J. H. Taylor, ‘The Family of Takeloth III and the “Theban” Twenty-third Dynasty’, in A. Leahy (ed.), Libya and Egypt c.1300–750 b c (London, 1990), 132; A. Leahy, ‘The Name of Osiris Written GSL D4 over Q1 and R8’, SAK 7 (1979), 148; K. A. Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 b.c.) (2nd edn; Warminster, 1986), 329, 567, 581, 594. 22 aston, Ä&L 10, 161, 178. 23 Reisner, Canopics, 368–71. 24 aston, Ä&L 10, 161, 177. 25 e. Bresciani, ‘L’attività archeologica dell Univerita di Pisa in Egitto: 1977–1980’, EVO 3 (1980), 3, table 4. 26 Bresciani, EVO 3, table 4. 27 a. K. Capel and G. E. Markoe, Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt (New York, 1996), 43; S. Naguib, Le clergé féminin d’Amon thébain à la 21e dynastie (OLA 38; Leuven, 1990), 242, 232, 235; E. Teeter and J. Johnson, The Life of Meresamun: A Temple Singer in Ancient Egypt (OIMP 29; Chicago, 2009), 25; cf. T. G. Wilfong, Women and Gender in Ancient Egypt from Prehistory to Late Antiquity (Ann Arbor, 1997), 21; S. L. Onstine, The Role of the Chantress (Smayt) in Ancient Egypt (BAR IS 1401; Oxford, 2005), 11–19. 28 Teeter, Meresamun, 15, 21. 29 M. Gitton, and J. Leclant, ‘Gottesgemahlin’, LÄ II, 798; H. Meulenaere, ‘Karomama’, LÄ III, 352. 2012 The Canopic Box of N%-aA-rw_ 131 perhaps daughter of Osorkon II,30 and Meresamun on her coffin Oriental Institute Museum 10797, bore this title.31 Other examples dating to the end of the Twenty-fifth to the Twenty-sixth Dynasties include the of _bH CG 4281 from Draa abu el-Naggah,32 and the fragment canopic jar of BAstt-ir-di.s from Medinet Habu.33 There is no evidence for holes for attaching a depiction of an figure to the lid, although Aston suggested that the lid of this box may be unfinished, comparing boxes of the same type which show the two Anubis figures lying on a couch to the right and the left of the text.34

Fig. 3. The lid of the canopic box (courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum).

Selkis side (fig. 4) Selkis purifies a mummified falcon-headed figure with yellow body, wearing ared garment and blue wig. Selkis stands on a blue base, in human form wearing a red dress and white wig, and identified by the scorpion on her head. She holds a jar with both hands in an act of purification. The text between them reads:    2      (    wab sp-sn Wsir Ns-aA-rwd mi Purification, purification, Osiris Ns-aA-rwd like (Qebehsenuef). Unlike the other sides of the box, the writer here omitted the name of the god (here Qebehsenuef). Above the scene runs a line of text, continued in four columns behind Selkis, making it clear that the goddess is uttering the purification:

30 h. Jaquet-Gordon, ‘Statuette of Maaet and the Identity of the Adoratress Karomama’, ZÄS 94 (1967), 92; M. G. Legrain, ‘Notice sur le temple d’Osiris Neb-Djeto’, ASAE 4 (1903), 183. 31 Teeter, Meresamun, 21–2. 32 Reisner, Canopics, 191 (no. 4281). 33 Reisner, Canopics, 355 (no. 4711). 34 aston, Ä&L 10, 161 n. 28. 132 Ahmed M. Mekawy Ouda JEA 98 777   a  ... . (          7 ( ((    .    . ???.   . Dd mdw in %rqt Hmt-nTr mry(t) hy.s Sps(t) wsr(t) pr(t) m nw (i)ar(t) Sps(t) wr(t) Sfit Snnt nb psH iTt tAwy m Axt nb(t) mdwt wr(t)-HkAw sanx(t) rmT nTrw srqt m-xt iAdt di TAw m … ? Words spoken by Selkis, god’s wife,35 beloved of her husband,36 the noble,37 and the powerful one, who came forth from the primeval water,38 the noble serpent, great of awe, who heals every snake bite,39 who seized the two lands in glory,40 lady of speech,41 great of magic,42 who causes people and gods to live, who causes to breathe after misery, who gives the breath in …? Neith side (fig. 5) Neith, depicted on a blue base wearing a red dress, and red crown of Lower Egypt, purifies a mummiformD uamutef with jackal’s head. His headdress is blue and his face black. Two columns between them in black on a white background read:    2    (    wab sp-sn Wsir Ns-aA-(rwd) mi _wA-mwt.f nty im.t Purification, purification, Osiris Ns-aA-(rwd) like Duamutef who is with you. Above the scene runs a line of text (black on white background), continued in four columns behind Neith (black on yellow and white background). The borders of the inscriptions are in blue apart from the lower edge, which is in black:        e   .    (                      ( .  .     . .$  

35 This title was common for priestesses: M. F. Ayad, God’s wife, God’s Servant: The God’s Wife of Amun (c. 740–525 b c ) (London, 2009), but was also used for a variety of deities, first with Isis on theE ighteenth Dynasty block statue of @rw MMA 23.8: W. Helck, Historische-biographische Texte der 2. Zwischenzeit und neue Texte der 18 Dynastie Nachträge (KÄT 6/2; Wiesbaden, 1995), 59. It occurs on the cenotaph of Taharqa, R. A. Parker and J. Leclant, The Edifice of Taharqa by the Sacred Lake of Karnak (BEStud 8; Providence, 1979), pl. 25, and in the Twenty-seventh Dynasty for the goddess abast: A. Fakhry, Bahria Oasis (Cairo, 1942), I, 78, fig. 35. 36 perhaps Horus? See H. Abdou, ‘Is Selket “The Lady of Khemmis and Wife of Horus”?’, in D. Boatright, J. Corbelli, and C. Malleson (eds), Current Research in Egyptology 2009 (Oxford, 2010), 15–22. 37 often written with the determinative of a standing hippopotamus goddess: Wb. IV, 450.7–9. 38 This title is not attested anywhere for Selkis, but is used frequently for the small and the great : C. Leitz, Tagewählerei: Das Buch HAt nhh pH.wy Dt und verwandte Texte (ÄA 55; Wiesbaden, 1994), I, 85. A hippopotamus (?) inside a shrine is described on Wadi Hammamat inscription from the Third Intermediate Period: ‘who went forth from the primeval water, mistress? of the gods’: J. Couyat and P. Montet, Les inscriptions hiéroglyphiques et hiératiques du Ouâdi Hammâmât (MIFAO 34; Cairo, 1912), 57 (no. 58). 39 written with  instead of GSL V49, and with determinative before nt. For this title see Wb. II, 393.8; Wb. IV, 496.2. cf. sDm n.i r nb psH in Isis’ speech on the Metternich stela: C. E. Sander-Hansen, Die Texte der Metternichstele (AnAe 7; Copenhagen, 1956), 59. 40 This divine title is not otherwise attested. 41 This title is specific to Selkis, but is close to ‘lady of divine speech’ recorded at Semna Temple, R. Caminos, Semna-Kumma (London, 1998), pl 27, and at Amada Temple, M. Aly, F. Abdel-Hamid, and M. Dewachter, Le temple d’Amada, IV (Cairo, 1967), L3. 42 Many goddesses had the epithet of wrt-HkAw in Ancient Egyptian theology, such as Isis, , , , , , , Iunyt, Meretseger, and many others: LGG II, 494. 2012 The Canopic Box of N%-aA-rw_ 133

Fig. 4. Selkis side (courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum).

Fig. 5. Neith side (courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum). 134 Ahmed M. Mekawy Ouda JEA 98 Dd mdw inD Hr.T Nt wrt mwt-nTr imn(t) sStA m-Xn(w) %Aw Hnksty wAH(t) mrwt mry(t) iwa.s mnat nfrt n(t) x Sps Aty(t) im.f ra-nb sSm(t) Hbs mk.s Haw-nTr ir(t) sA.f m Xrt-hrw di(t) Htp.f m DbAt Ts(t) rn.f m kA nxt Words spoken: Hail to you Neith, the great, mother of god,43 hidden of form within Sais,44 the braided one,45 enduring of love,46 beloved of her heir,47 the good nurse of the noble child,48 who nurses him every day, who conducts the clothing of the ,49 as she protects the body of the god,50 she who makes his protection daily,51 who causes that he rests in the sarcophagus,52 who binds his name as the strong bull. Isis side (fig. 6) A humanoid Isis is represented with yellow skin, white wig (surmounted by ), and red dress, standing on a blue base. She purifies a humanoid mummiform Amsety with blue headdress and yellow body. He is the only son of Horus depicted on this box with a beard. The line of text above them and the column between them read:       2       .   (    wab sp-sn Wsir Hs(t) Xnw NA.s-aA-rwd mi Imst nty im.t Purification, purification, Osiris, Singer in the interior (of the Temple), NA.s-aA-rwd like Amsety who is with you. Behind Isis are four lines of text:    a   a    (  s  (    7     $    K 7   .          b .

43 The first two titles of Neith are the same as Isis on this box. 44 Wb. IV, 297.11, 18, perhaps referring to her body (=statue) in her temple at Sais; Neith bore many epithets linking her to Sais, but this epithet is not otherwise attested: R. El-Sayed, La déesse Neith de Sais (BdE 86; Cairo, 1982), 32. 45 This epithet occurs in the referring to NutCT ( II, 18g), and may also be used for the goddess Menet(?) in the Late Period temple at Hibis: N. de G. Davies, The Temple of Hibis in El Khargeh Oasis, III (New York, 1953), pl. 8. Nephthys also bears this title on this box. 46 Re, the sun god, had this epithet in the New Kingdom: LGG II, 246. 47 Not attested for Neith before the Ptolemaic Period, but later Re, , and Horus are described as ‘heir of Neith’ on the walls of Esna and Tod respectively: LGG I, 172, 178. 48 for Att and mnat, see J. Assmann, ‘Die Inschrift auf dem äusseren Sarkophagdeckel des Merenptah’, MDAIK 28 (1972), 48, 57 n.3. The noble child occurs once in the Third Intermediate Period identifying Re-: A. Piankoff, Mythological Papyri (New York, 1957), no. 19, scene 3, and twice for Kheper and in the Late Period: Davies, Hibis, 68, 71. Though many deities could be the noble child (LGG V, 621–2), the context here may imply Horus. 49 Neith is closely linked to the sacred cloth, and her temple in Sais was famous for producing strips of linen to be used for mummification from at least the Eighteenth Dynasty: El-Sayed, La déesse Neith de Sais, I, 76–7; II, 332–3. 50 for this epithet and the next two, see El-Sayed, La déesse Neith de Sais, 117–8, 120–1. She protects the mummified body and limbs ofO siris, and scatters his rebels: R. O. Faulkner, ‘Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys’, Mélanges Maspero, I/1 (MIFAO 66; Cairo, 1934), 340 col. 5.8; R. O. Faulkner, The Papyrus Bremner-Rhind (British Museum no. 10188) (BAe 3; Brussels, 1933), 15, 17. 51 Neith is described on Pap. Berlin 3008 thus: ‘she will be a protection to your body forever’; Faulkner, Mélanges Maspero I/1, 340, col. 5.8. 52 osiris is described thus: ‘you are at rest beside your mother (Neith)’; Faulkner, Mélanges Maspero I/1, 340 col. 5.7. 2012 The Canopic Box of N%-aA-rw_ 135 Dd mdw inD Hr.T Ist wr(t) mwt-nTr Hmt-nsw wrt n tpt hy.s Hmt-nTr m xn n ¿dt nbt nmtt n Pr-@n nb(t) Htpw m sTAw nw(t) hy.s m Iwnw @sAt mr(t) sA.s smn(t) s(w) Hr st it.f rx(t) xt imyt q(n)yn (A)x-bit nb(t) mk(t) m wiA Words spoken: Hail to you, Isis the great, mother of the god,53 the first great royal wife of her husband,54 the wife of the god in the resting place of Mendes,55 lady of stride in the House of Hen,56 lady of offerings in the cemetery,57 who assembled her husband in Heliopolis,58 Hesat,59 beloved of her son, who placed him on his father’s throne, who knows things in the portable shrine Chemmis, lady of protection in the sacred bark.

Nephthys side (fig. 7) This side is the only one which does not have a horizontal text line above the scene. A humanoid Nephthys, wearing a red dress (surmounted by  ) and standing on a blue base, purifies a humanoid mummiform Hapi with a baboon’s head.The text between them reads:       2      (   wab sp-sn Wsir Ns-aA-rwd mi @pi nty im sp fdw Purification, purification, Osiris Ns-aA-rwd, like Hapi who is there, four times. The text behind Nephthys reads:      aa  . e  e  a           

e  ( 2        . 

53 a common title of Isis: M. Münster, Untersuchungen zur Göttin Isis: Vom Alten Reich bis zum Ende des Neuen Reiches (MÄS 11; Mainz, 1968), 205. 54 The sw was written in the place of Hmt and subsequently corrected. The n should be after tpt: cf. L. Troy, Patterns of Queenship in Ancient Egyptian Myth and History (Uppsala, 1986), 194. The title Hmt-nsw wrt was common for queens (Troy, Patterns of Queenship, 106–8, 193–4), but only the goddess Nebet-hetepet bore it on a block statue of the Saite Period: I. Gamer-Wallert, Ägyptische und ägyptisierende Funde von der Iberischen Halbinsel (Wiesbaden, 1978), 206. 55 Cf. Hathor who is described at Philae as ‘the wife of the god in Mendes’: G. Bénédite, Le Temple de Philae (MMAF 13; Cairo, 1893), 92.6. 56 ‘House of Hen’ perhaps refers to Athribis where a part of Osiris’ body was found: H. Gauthier, Dictionnaire des noms géographiques contenus dans les textes hiéroglyphiques (Cairo, 1925), II, 111–12; alternatively it may be the sanctuary of the Sokar bark at Memphis: K. A. Kitchen, ‘Henu-Barke’, LÄ II, 1120; Gauthier, Dictionnaire des noms géographiques, 111–12. It could denote the underworld or a part of it: J. Yoyotte, ‘Études géographiques I. La cité des Acacias’, RdE 13 (1961), 93 n. 1; however, the other topographical references in this passage refer to earthly toponyms (¿dw, Iwnw, (A)x-bit). nbt nmtt m pr-@n is not otherwise attested, but cf. nbt [nmtt] m wiA n [HHw] for Hathor in the tomb of Amenemope (TT 41): J. Assmann, Das Grab des Amenemope (Mainz am Rhein, 1991), 82–3; see also nbt [nmtt] m Hwt-aAt and nbt nmtt m Wnw on the Late Period Louvre 3129 and BM 10252: Urk. VI, 53.18. nbt nmtt m Xrt-nTr occurs in Tewosert’s Tomb (KV 14; KRI IV, 356.10) and on three coffins of the Late Period: G. Daressy, Cercueils des cachettes royales (CGC Nos 61001–44; Cairo, 1909), 42 (no. 61024), 123 (no. 61030), 181 (no. 61032). Finally, cf. also nbt nmtt Smsw-@r on a Late Period coffin: Daressy, Cercueils, 162 (no. 61031). 57 while this extended title is not otherwise attested, nbt Htpw is common from the Middle Kingdom on (e.g. CT III, 324g; IV, 17i); for the New Kingdom, referring to , see M. E. Grébaut, Le Musée égyptien: Recueil de monuments et de notices sur les fouilles d’Égypte (Cairo, 1890–1900), VII, pl. 5; Urk. IV, 1399.16; J. Broekhuis, De godin Renenwetet (Assen, 1971), 143. It was also a name of a realm in the sixth hour of the Book of the Gates: E. Hornung, Das Buch von den Pforten des Jenseits nach den Versionen des Neuen Reiches (AH 7; Geneva, 1979), 240. 58 Nw hy.s is not otherwise attested, but nw Haw-nTr is known in the Graeco-Roman Period: LGG III, 542. 59 for this goddess, see J. G. Griffiths, ‘Hesat’, LÄ II, 1170. Hesat is here a name for Isis rather than a separate goddess; this is typical of the late Twenty-fifth/early Twenty-sixth Dynasties, rather than the Ptolemaic Period: Griffiths,LÄ II, 1170. 136 Ahmed M. Mekawy Ouda JEA 98

Fig. 6. Isis side (courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum).

Fig. 7. Nephthys side (courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum). 2012 The Canopic Box of N%-aA-rw_ 137 Dd mdw in Nbt-Ht wr(t) Hnwt Hmwt %pdt nb(t)-anx-tAwy nbt-irty wbx (t) wDAty spd(t) dmd wAH(t) Haw nbt-idmi Hnwt-wAD(t) an(t) n dpt-nTr nbt imA(t) wAH(t) mrwt pXr(t) ib nb m [nfrw?] H[nk]sty(t) n-Xn n @wt-aAt nfw m wiA wr Words spoken by Nephthys, the great, mistress of women,60 Sopdet,61 lady of Ankhtawy,62 lady of the two eyes,63 shining of eyes,64 sharp of knife,65 enduring of body, lady of red linen,66 mistress of green linen,67 beautiful one of the divine bark, lady of grace,68 enduring of love,69 who encircles every heart in [perfection],70 the braided one in the midst of the Great Temple,71 sailor in the great sacred bark.72

Discussion From the Middle Kingdom, canopic jars might be put inside a canopic box,73 which from the New Kingdom began to take the shape of a naos or a shrine (as in the present example), sometimes being decorated with a figure of a falcon or a jackal.74 In the Late Period, the canopic boxes became higher and narrower.75 In the early Saite Period, the custom of using canopic boxes began to die out.76 The parallels and title of the owner suggest that the BM EA 8539 canopic box is perhaps from Thebes and dates to late Twenty-fifth Dynasty/early Twenty-sixth

60 attested for the wife of the king: Troy, Patterns of Queenship, 185–6. Referring to Hathor in the New Kingdom: M. Marciniak, Les Inscriptions hiératiques du Temple de Thoutmosis III (Warsaw, 1974), 70, no. 11.1; also in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty (CG 647): J. Leclant, Montouemhat: Quatrième prophète d’Amon, prince de la ville (BdE 35; Cairo, 1961), 101, 4. 61 Sopdet as a separate goddess was associated with the fixed star, Sirius, and hence with the inundation. She is also indentified with many deities, e.g. Isis, Hathor, and Hesat. See L. Kákosy, ‘Sothis’, LÄ V, 1110–11. 62 Many deities had the epithet of ‘lady of Ankhtawy’ (=Memphis), e.g. Isis, , Wadjet, Bastet, and Hathor. See LGG IV, 30. 63 This title is not otherwise attested for females, but occurs once in its masculine form for @r-mxnty-irty: A. H. Gardiner, Chester Beatty Gift (HTBM 3; London, 1935), pl. 36 verso 2.6. 64 used as an epithet of Re-Atum on the Greenfield papyrus (BM EA 10554): E. A. W. Budge, The Greenfield Papyrus in the British Museum: The Funerary Papyrus of Princess Nesitanebtashru, Daughter of Painetchem II and Nesi-Khensu, and Priestess of Amen-Ra at Thebes, about B.C. 970 (London, 1912), pl. 85 col. 1, no. 14. 65 attested for Amun in its masculine form once in the New Kingdom: J. Zandee, Der Amunhymnus des Papyrus Leiden I 344, verso (Leiden, 1992), I, 6. Cf. spd dmwt, a name of a gate in the sixth hour of the : I. Hegenbarth-Reichardt, Der Raum der Zeit: Eine Untersuchung zu den altägyptischen Vorstellungen und Konzeptionen von Zeit und Raum anhand des Unterweltbuches Amduat (ÄAT 64; Wiesbaden, 2006), 131 (459). 66 WADt, idmi, ins, HDt are four kinds of linen which were presented in the daily ritual and the Opening of the Mouth ritual: A. Egberts, In Quest of Meaning: A Study of the Ancient Egyptian Rites of Consecrating the - Chests and Driving the Calves (EU 8/1; Leiden, 1995), 140–1, 177. 67 for the second time on the canopic box, the correct word, wADt, was written over the incorrect one (wt). 68 a common epithet for goddeses from the New Kingdom, e.g. Mut (KRI I, 20.8; KRI I, 301.7; KRI 316.16); also Maat ( KRI I, 287.12), Sekhmet (Urk. IV, 1764.11), and Rennutet: R. J. Leprohon, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, III: Stelae, II. The New Kingdom to the Coptic Period (CAA; Mainz am Rhein, 1991), 16. It is also borne once by deified queen Ahmose-Nefertari: B. Bruyère, Rapports sur les fouilles de Deir el-Médineh 1929 (FIFAO 7; Cairo, 1930), II, 41. 69 Not otherwise attested for Nephthys, though she was commonly linked to love: J. Lévai, Aspects of the Goddess Nephthys, Especially during the Graeco-Roman Period in Egypt (Ann Arbor, 2007), 168–77. 70 Cf. Wb. I, 544.14; LGG III, 114. 71 @wt-aAt is the sun-temple of Atum in Heliopolis: E. El-Banna, ‘Deux etudes héliopolitaines’, BIFAO 85 (1985), 149, 159; D. Raue, Heliopolis und das Haus des Re: Eine Prosopographie und ein Toponym im Neuen Reich (ADAIK 16; Berlin, 1999), 15, 110. It also referred to Amun’s temple in Thebes from the Middle Kingdom: Raue, Heliopolis, 110. 72 Cf. Wb. III, 251.6; nfw ‘sailor’ (or ‘captain’) is used elsewhere in the titles ‘chief sailor of Maat’ and ‘sailor of the barque of ’: A. G. Gaballa, ‘False-door Stelae of some Memphite Personnel’, SAK 7 (1979), 42–4 fig. 1, 50–1. 73 k. Martin, ‘Kanopenkästen’, LÄ III, 319. 74 Martin, LÄ III, 319; Lüscher, Kanopenkästen, 7; Reisner, Canopics, 369–71 (nos 4735–6). 75 Lüscher, Kanopenkästen, 7. 76 See also Aston, Ä&L 10, 161. 138 Ahmed M. Mekawy Ouda JEA 98 Dynasties. Her father, Osorkon, whose name is mentioned on the lid of the canopic box, was not common in this period, but an Osorkon, a Priest of Montu, is attested on the coffins CG 41037 and CG 41065–6. Canopic boxes were under the protection of Osiris and Anubis, but the most frequently mentioned deities on them are the sons of Horus (associated with the rituals of the night-vigil and funeral),77 and the four protective goddesses:78 Isis, Nephthys, Neith,79 and Selkis.80 The representation of the sons of Horus and the protective goddesses on the walls of canopic boxes began in the New Kingdom, when it becomes widespread to depict the sons of Horus on the short sides of the canopic boxes, whilst the four protective deities were represented on the long side. In contrast, both of them are depicted on the same sides of the British Museum EA 8539. Continued innovation can be seen elsewhere in the Late Period, with new decorative motifs occurring on the canopic boxes.81 There are no exact parallels for the texts on BM EA 8539, and several of the goddesses’ epithets are otherwise unknown or not attested for them.82 Neith’s role as protectress of Horus is mentioned, as is also found in Late Period inscriptions, where she is ‘the nurse of her son Horus’,83 as his protector in Chemmis,84 and as ‘the divine mother who protects Horus’ (elsewhere Horus too can be described as ‘son of Neith’).85 BM EA 8539 also invokes Isis’ strong relationship with her husband Osiris and her son Horus,86 and mentions Chemmis where she gave birth to Horus,87 and her reassembly of her husband’s body in Heliopolis.88 Simultaneously, BM EA 8539 highlights her protective role, which she performs on the solar bark along with Nephthys.89 Taken together, the captions to BM EA 8539 represent an unusually dense and rich of mythological allusions unparalleled on other canopic boxes.

77 van Voss, LÄ III, 53; H. Willems, Chests of Life (Leiden, 1988), 141; J. Assmann, ‘Neith spricht als Mutter und Sarg’, MDAIK 28 (1973), 47–73. 78 Lüscher, Kanopenkästen, 7; Martin, LÄ III, 319; Dodson, Canopic Equipment, 2. 79 Neith is occasionally replaced in the tetrad of protective goddesses by . 80 M. Stoff,Skorpion und Skorpiongöttin im alten Ägypten (Hamburg, 2002), 124, 153–7. Abdou, in Boatright et al. (eds), Current Research in Egyptology 2009, 19–20; F. von Känel, ‘Selqet’, LÄ V, 832; L. Kákosy, Egyptian Healing Statues in Three Museums in Italy (Turin, Florence, Naples) (Turin, 1999), 58–9, 84, 99, 102; H. Sternberg-El Hotabi, ‘Die Götterdarstellungen der Metternichstele’, GM 97 (1987), 46–7. 81 Lüscher, Kanopenkästen, 7; Martin, LÄ III, 320; Aston, Ä&L 10, 170–1, pls 16–19. 82 See detailed documentation in footnotes above; see nn. 35–42 (Selkis), nn. 43–52 (Neith), nn. 53–9 (Isis), nn. 60–72 (Nephthys). 83 el-Sayed, La déesse Neith de Sais, 111–12; II, 566. 84 e. Chassinat, Le mammisi d’Edfou (MIFAO 16/1; Cairo,1939), 152.5–7 85 el-Sayed, La déesse Neith de Sais, 111–12. 86 for Isis as protectress, see Münster, Isis, 147; Assmann, MDAIK 28, 63; her role in protecting Osiris and conferring kingship on Horus is attested earlier, e.g. N. de G. Davies, The tomb of Nefer-hotep at Thebes (New York, 1933), pls 58–9. 87 Münster, Isis, 185. 88 willems, Chests of Life, 133, 135. 89 Münster, Isis, 99; Isis occurs in this role in all but one hour of the Amduat, being named explicitly as ‘Isis’ in the seventh hour, and referred to in the other hours as nbt wiA ‘lady of the sacred bark’ or xwit wiA ‘who protects the sacred bark’; see E. Hornung, Das Amduat: Die Schrift des verborgenen Raumes nach Texten aus den Gräbern des Neuen Reiches (ÄA 7; Wiesbaden, 1963), I, 10 (no. 45), 31 (no. 154), 69 (no. 294), 85 (no. 359), 107 (no. 433), 123 (no. 505), 142 (no. 573), 159 (no. 647), 173 (no. 720), 185 (no. 777), 198 (no. 848). For Nephthys in the solar bark, see E. Graefe, ‘Nephthys’, LÄ IV (Wiesbaden, 1982), 458.