Canopic jar of Ketjen in the form of god Duamutef
The canopic jar is made of alabaster. The canopic lid is made in the form of a head of jackal and it represents Egyptian god Duamutef. It is completely preserved. At the front side there is hieroglyphic inscription in four columns.
The text appears on the full set of canopic jars in collection of Varaždin. It is the usual one found on that type of Egyptian monuments. It contains a king's name Wahibre which was the prenomen taken by two kings: Psamtek and Apries. The unsolved problem in the text is the owner's name Ktjen (KTn) which also means "the chariot driver". It is always written before the king's name so it can also be understood as "the chariot driver of Wahibre". Even the previous translation by Miroslava Panić does not offer the solution of this problem. It is also possible that the title "the chariot driver", because of its importance, became a personal name of the owner.
Canopic jars belong to the Late Egyptian Period (26th Saite Dynasty). Probably the monuments could be dated back to the reign of Psamtek I (664 – 610 BC). The date is made on the orthography of some words and cartouche of pharaoh Psamtek I. Typology of German Egyptologist Kurt Sethe helps us in setting the date of the inscriptions. It was compared with typology made by Sethe and they all belong to the type XIX from 26th Saite Dynasty.
Magic sayings on canopic jars are dedicated to these god’s pairs: Isis-Imsety, Nepthis-Hapy, Neit-Duamutef and Serketh-Qebehsenuef. All magic sayings are different. Based on Raisner divisions we can rank them in the 5th group of canopic jars with inscriptions. This type appears for the first time during the 26th Saite Dynasty.
The Egyptian collection of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb also keeps 23 canopic jars with lids and 22 canopic lids dating from the periods of the Middle Kingdom to the Late Egyptian Periods. One canopic lid from the period of the Middle Kingdom is kept in Museum Mimara in Zagreb. Four canopic jars from the Museum of the City of Varaždin belong to the most beautiful specimens that can be found in the museums in Croatia.
Transliteration and translation:
Dd mdw Nt sdwA. j smSr. j
Words spoken by Neith: "I make the dawn, I make the evening
ra nb Hr jrj mkt n ¨wAmwtf ntj jm. j
every day to protect Duamutef who is in me.
sA Wsjr KTn WAH-jb-Ra mrj PtH
Protection to Osiris Ketjen Wahibre, the beloved of Ptah.
sA ¨wAmwtf Wsjr KTn WAH-jb-Ra mrj PtH pw ¨wA[mwtf]
Protection to Duamutef. (For) Osiris Ketjen Wahibre, beloved of Ptah, is [Duamutef]."
Acquisition: Originally the collection was in the possession of the noble family Pasthory-Varady in the 19th century. In 1920’s these artefacts came in the possession of the Varaždin City Museum.
The text appears on the full set of canopic jars in collection of Varaždin. It is the usual one found on that type of Egyptian monuments. It contains a king's name Wahibre which was the prenomen taken by two kings: Psamtek and Apries. The unsolved problem in the text is the owner's name Ktjen (KTn) which also means "the chariot driver". It is always written before the king's name so it can also be understood as "the chariot driver of Wahibre". Even the previous translation by Miroslava Panić does not offer the solution of this problem. It is also possible that the title "the chariot driver", because of its importance, became a personal name of the owner.
Canopic jars belong to the Late Egyptian Period (26th Saite Dynasty). Probably the monuments could be dated back to the reign of Psamtek I (664 – 610 BC). The date is made on the orthography of some words and cartouche of pharaoh Psamtek I. Typology of German Egyptologist Kurt Sethe helps us in setting the date of the inscriptions. It was compared with typology made by Sethe and they all belong to the type XIX from 26th Saite Dynasty.
Magic sayings on canopic jars are dedicated to these god’s pairs: Isis-Imsety, Nepthis-Hapy, Neit-Duamutef and Serketh-Qebehsenuef. All magic sayings are different. Based on Raisner divisions we can rank them in the 5th group of canopic jars with inscriptions. This type appears for the first time during the 26th Saite Dynasty.
The Egyptian collection of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb also keeps 23 canopic jars with lids and 22 canopic lids dating from the periods of the Middle Kingdom to the Late Egyptian Periods. One canopic lid from the period of the Middle Kingdom is kept in Museum Mimara in Zagreb. Four canopic jars from the Museum of the City of Varaždin belong to the most beautiful specimens that can be found in the museums in Croatia.
Transliteration and translation:
Dd mdw Nt sdwA. j smSr. j
Words spoken by Neith: "I make the dawn, I make the evening
ra nb Hr jrj mkt n ¨wAmwtf ntj jm. j
every day to protect Duamutef who is in me.
sA Wsjr KTn WAH-jb-Ra mrj PtH
Protection to Osiris Ketjen Wahibre, the beloved of Ptah.
sA ¨wAmwtf Wsjr KTn WAH-jb-Ra mrj PtH pw ¨wA[mwtf]
Protection to Duamutef. (For) Osiris Ketjen Wahibre, beloved of Ptah, is [Duamutef]."
Acquisition: Originally the collection was in the possession of the noble family Pasthory-Varady in the 19th century. In 1920’s these artefacts came in the possession of the Varaždin City Museum.
Catalogue entry
Canopic jar of Ketjen in the form of god Duamutef
The Varaždin City Museum, Varaždin
Archaeological department: Collection of the Ancient Egyptian artefacts
Inv. no. GMV AO-5282
Egypt, unknown site
Late Period (664-332 BC)
26th Saite Dynasty (664-525 BC), reign of pharaoh Psamtek I (664-610 BC)
alabaster: carving, stone proccesing
canopic jar: 32 x 17.2 cm
canopic lid: 11.1 x 13.2 cm
inscription: 10.5 x 7.5 cm
private collection, Pasthory-Varady, 19th century
3D
Resources
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- Tomorad, Mladen. „The Egyptian antiquities in Croatia“. PalArch 2, 1 (2005): 1-33. 20.
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- Tomorad, Mladen. Model računalne obrade i prezentacije staroegipatskih predmeta u muzejskim zbirkama u Hrvatskoj. [Doktorska disertacije, Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu]. Zagreb, 2006. 30.
- Tomorad, Mladen; Uranić, Igor. "Egyptian Collection of the Museum of the City of Varaždin - Croatia". Trabajos de Egiptologia - Papers on Ancient Egypt 3 (2004): 87-98. no. 3c, 96.
