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Viscera figure with human head (Imseti)

Viscera figure with human head (Imsety)

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Date
ca. 990–970 B.C.
Medium
Gum (Acacia tortilis)
Dimensions
H. 10.1 cm (4 in.); W. 3.5 cm (1 3/8 in.); D. 2.5 cm (1 in.)
Department
Egyptian Art
Gallery
126
Location
126
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1925

Description

Overview Viscera figure with human head (Imseti) Third Intermediate Period ca. 990–970 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 126 A set of four roughly-made figures (25.3.155a–d) were found inside the mummy of Henettawy,daughter of Isetemkheb. Each of the figures represents one of the Four Sons of Horus, the deities who both embodied and protected the internal organs. Henettawy's organs had been removed, divided into seven packages, dessicated, wrapped in linen, and placed back in the body. This figure represents the human-headed Imseti, usually seen as the guardian of the liver.