Canopic Shrine Of Tutankhamun

Gilded wood. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

This gilded wooden canopic shrine contained the mummified viscera of Tutankhamun. It is embraced protectively by four goddesses, the two visible in this photo being Selket (photo right) and Isis (photo center). Its double cornice is decorated with a repeated solar uraeus motif. The solar uraeus - a cobra surmounted by the disk of Re - is associated with Re and the kingship of Egypt. The cobras, like the goddesses, are apotropaic, magically protecting the king against enemies in this world and the next.