356, Lot: 412. Estimate $300. Sold for $500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian. AD 117-138. BI Tetradrachm (25mm, 12.71 g, 12h). Dated RY 11 (AD 126/7). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Canopus of Osiris right; L ENΔ-EKATOV (date) around. Köln 939; Dattari (Savio) 1327; K&G 32.404; Emmett 827.11 (R3). Good VF, toned. Rare.

Ex CNG Inventory 152744.

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.