Christie’s Antiquities auction to end on June 16

CAIRO - 15 June 2020: One day remains until the closing of the online antiques auction offered by Christie's Auction House. The auction is scheduled to end on June 16, and includes a large number of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities.

Among the Egyptian artifacts offered for sale is a circular Pharaonic mural, dating back to the late period, and its value is estimated at $15,000- $20,000.

This is in addition to an Egyptian canopic container, dating back to the late period of the 26th Dynasty [664-525 B.C.]. The price of the container is estimated at $60,000- $90,000.

It is worth noting that canopic vessels are utensils that the ancient Egyptians used during the mummification process to store and preserve the bowels of the dead for the afterlife. These vessels were usually made of limestone or pottery.

Not all viscera were kept in a single canopic jar. There were four types of canopic jars, each to preserve a specific organ: the stomach, intestine, lungs and liver. The ancient Egyptians believed that the deceased would need these organs in the after-life.

There was no jar for the heart, as the ancient Egyptians viewed it as the source of the soul, and was rather kept inside the dead body.