349, Lot: 345. Estimate $100. Sold for $130. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Drachm (35mm, 21.10 g, 11h). Dated RY 19 (AD 134/5). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Canopic jar of Osiris right, ornamented and wearing Atef crown. Köln 1172 var. (obv. bust type & jar not ornamented); Dattari (Savio) 1655; K&G 32.663; Emmett 932.19. Fine, brown and red patina with touches of green.

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.