The Egyptians didn't worship the animals, but the forces of nature that they symbolized. Anubis, God of the Dead, represented with a head of a jackal or simply as a jackal opened the road to the other world and presided over embalmments. After a funeral, Anubis would take the deceased by the hand and introduce him into the presence of the sovereign judges where the soul of the deceased would be weighed. Anubis was the Guardian of Offerings brought to the ceremony by heirs of the deceased and he also guarded the mummy from evil forces in the night. When the body was embalmed, a priest wearing a jackal mask acted as Anubis's representative. He also was the guardian of the Sacred Esoteric Mysteries. The origin of this God lay in the fact that jackals could be heard howling in the desert to the west of the Nile at sunset-at the time when burials took place.

SIZE: 3.5"H ( 9cm)

ITEM MATERIAL: Bonded marble

ITEM FINISH: Gold finish with color detail

List Price $34.95

Canopic Jars were in use from the Old Kingdom onwards in Egypt to store various internal organs removed during the process of mummification. They were four in number and eventually came to represent the Four Sons of Horus. Each jar had a characteristic head associated with the demi-god charged with the safekeeping of a particular human organ. These four genii also represented the four cardinal points of the compass. Duamutef, the jackal-headed jar representing the east, contained the stomach and was protected by the goddess Neith. Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed jar representing the west, contained the intestines and was protected by the goddess Selket. Hapi, the baboon-headed jar representing the north, contained the lungs and was protected by the goddess Nephthys. Imseti, the human-headed jar representing the south, contained the liver and was protected by the goddess Isis.

SIZE: 4.5"H (11.5cm)

ITEM MATERIAL: Casting stone

ITEM FINISH: Antique stone

List Price $79.95