EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian. AD 117-138. BI Tetradrachm (25mm, 13.36 g, 12h). Dated RY 10 (AD 125/6). AVT KAIC TPAI AΔPIA CЄB, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / L · ΔE-KATOV (date), canopic jar to right. Köln 904; Dattari (Savio)1325 ; K&G 32.351; Milne 1154; Emmet 827. VF, toned.
From the Robert O. Ebert Collection. Ex Stack’s Bowers & Ponterio (11 January 2013), lot 5347 (part of).
Canopic jars were used to store the organs that were removed from the body during the mummification process, specifically the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines. The term “canopic” to describe such vessels is a misnomer, being derived from the port city of Canopus, where the god Osiris was worshipped in the form of a jar.
