Preserving the soul for the afterlife

Many visitors are surprised to learn that we have ancient objects in the collection, including this Canopic Jar Lid from Egypt, one of many highlights of the current exhibition Creating a Global Understanding. Though the exhibition is currently closed to the public, learn more about this amazing work of ancient art.

Ancient Egypt was likely one of the first civilizations to believe in an afterlife. Beliefs relied heavily on the preservation of the soul, Ka, and the body, Ba. Within this belief system lie the roots of the embalming and mummification practices used to preserve an individual’s body for use in the afterlife.

Vessels called canopic jars held the internal organs of mummified bodies. Typically, a set of four included a baboon-headed jar (Hapi) for the lungs, a jackal-headed jar (Duamutef) for the stomach, a falcon-headed jar (Qebehsenuef) for the intestines, and a human-headed jar (Imseti) for the liver.

This lid depicts Imset, a god illustrated by the human head and one of four sons of the god Horus. The liver in ancient Egypt was seen as the part of the body containing emotion, a quality that would be needed in the afterlife of the mummified person. The afterlife, A’Aru (The Field of Reeds), according to ancient Egyptians, was a divine place without illness, pain or suffering.

This canopic jar lid is made of Travertine (Egyptian alabaster), a sacred mineral in ancient Egypt quarried at Alabastron. After the liver was removed, it was preserved in natron—sourced from Egyptian salt flats—and wrapped in linen to dry it and protect it from decay.

Natron was also used for centuries in ancient Egyptian glass making and as “Egyptian blue” in ceramic glazes (faience). Several examples of both glass and ceramic objects using Natron are in the University Museums’ permanent collection.

In ancient Egypt, symbolism and iconography were used to teach about deities, protect pharaohs in the afterlife, and guide funerary rituals. This Imset canopic jar lid reflects devotion to the gods, reverence for the body, and the promise of life in the Field of Reeds.

Primary source objects like this canopic jar lid help bring history to life, transporting viewers to a time of mummies and the spiritual beliefs of the lives of ancient Egyptians.

Imset (Imseti) Canopic Jar Lid, 1500 BCE, Egyptian. Gift of Ann and Henry Brunnier. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. 6.1.1