437, Lot: 369. Estimate $150. Sold for $260. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Drachm (33.5mm, 22.87 g, 11h). Dated RY 18 (AD 133/134). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Two canopic jars of Osiris, both crowned with different headdresses and decorations on the jars; L I H (date) across the field. Köln 1107-8; Dattari (Savio) 7593; K&G 32.590; RPC III 5881/35; Emmett 933.18. VF, dark green and brown patina, some roughness with spots of corrosion. Well struck, which shows all of the detail on the canopic jars.

A wonderful type that depicts two canopic jars. 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.