How to Make Egyptian Canopic Jars
During the process of mummification, the Egyptians removed the deceased person's organs and stored them in canopic jars. The jars were then stored inside a special chest and placed alongside the mummy in the tomb. The jars were decorated with four deities with animal or human heads, sons of the god Horus, and contained the liver, intestines, stomach and lungs. The Egyptians left the heart in the body, believing it would be weighed after death to judge the person's sins. Making canopic jars is a hands-on way to teach kids, especially from ages five to ten, about life in Ancient Egypt with an entertaining task.
Things You'll Need
- Round containers (one per person)
- Air-drying clay
- Paint
- Brushes
- Construction paper
- Tape
- Glue
- Hieroglyphic stamps (optional)
- Papier-mâché (optional)
Instructions
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Use clean round containers as the base of the jars. Empty ice-cream containers work well, as well as any kind of round plastic container. Be sure they are tall enough to resemble the shape of canopic jars and give the kids room to decorate the base. Each container needs a stable lid that fits, to support the clay sculpture on top.
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Give everyone a container and a fist-sized lump of clay. Make sure each child has an idea of which figure they would like to sculpt and some example pictures if they want them. It is not necessary that everyone stick to the exact Egyptian figures, just as long as the kids know what the jars looked like in the past, and where their figure should be placed. If you are doing the project on your own, sketch out of quick idea of the figure you want to make to visualize the final product.
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Shape the general form of a head, and work gradually towards ears and eyes, then other facial details. Sculpt the figure on top, or monitor the sculpting process if the project in done in a class. Smooth down the edges of the clay figure and check that it is firmly rooted to the lid. The clay needs to sit and air dry for at least 24 hours afterward, then it can be painted with any kind of paint. Craft paint has bright colors that work well on clay.
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Let the clay dry undisturbed. After it is solid, it can be painted in the bright colors the Egyptians might have used. Lapis blue was very popular, as were bright canary yellow, orange, dusty red and sandy brown tones. Often the animal and human heads of the gods and goddesses wore striped cloths and headdresses.
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Hieroglyphs could be sculpted, carved or painted in Ancient Egypt Decorate the bodies or bases of the jars by either painting them or wrapping them with construction paper and trimming the edges. Tape or glue the construction paper to the body of the container. Then the children can mark it with hieroglyphs, paint and even more clay if they like, although then it will need to dry again. The jars often had hieroglyphs sculpted on their bases.
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Tips & Warnings
Another option instead of clay is to use papier-mâché to create the heads. Form the base figures with aluminum foil, tape it to the lids, and use paste and newspaper strips to sculpt the details.
Do not paint papier-mâché directly with water-based paints, however. It needs to be coated with an emulsion first, otherwise water will cause the paste to run.
If you are working with kids, read all product labels first and make sure there is no danger in case someone ingests something accidentally.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Pyramids of Gaza image by Dusty from Fotolia.com hieroglyphs image by Horticulture from Fotolia.com
