Egyptian Canopic Jars
and the Rest Pot
by Amber Ward
Classroom Communities
• Colorado
• 30-40 middle school
students
• Lower-middle
socioeconomic status
• Ethnically diverse
• Adequate PTA
support
• 7 daily preps.
• Kansas
• 25 middle school
students
• Upper-middle
socioeconomic status
• Ethnically
homogenous
• Active PTA support
• 3 daily preps.
Day 1: Obituary
Anticipatory set: TSW answer the following via
think-pair-share: What one thing would you not
want to live without?
TTW . . .
1. Read obituary from newspaper
2. Create obituary with help from students
3. Dispense obituary examples
Day 1: Obituary (cont’d.)
4. TSW write a one paragraph obituary,
answering . . .
• Who were you?
• How will people remember you?
• What was your occupation?
• Did you have a family?
• How old were you when you passed
away?
• What were your hobbies?
Day 2: Art History
• TSW circle 5-10 adjectives from obituary
• TSW design complementary symbols
• TTW introduce Egyptian history and
canopic jars visually and aurally
Canopic Jar: Examples
Canopic Jar: History
Duamutef: the jackal-headed god represented the east;
jar contained the STOMACH and was protected by the
goddess Neith.
Qebehsenuef: the falcon-headed god represented the
west; jar contained the INTESTINES and was protected
by the goddess Selket.
Hapi: the baboon-headed god represented the north; jar
contained the LUNGS and was protected by the
goddess Nephthys.
Imseti: the human-headed god represented the south; jar
contained the LIVER and was protected by the goddess
Isis.
Day 3:
1. Why “Rest Pot” title?
2. Q: What one thing would you not want to live without?
A: My brain
3. TTW model visual communication via Rest Pot “top view”
and “side view” design in light of above answer
• Size (tall and narrow)
• Form (figural)
• Surface design (symbols from obituary adjectives)
• Lid and handle: TTW solicit feedback from students
• Hand-building technique (coil)
4. TSW play with clay for 15 minutes
“form follows function”
Pots: Pinch, Coil, Slab
Days 4-12
1. Hand building demonstration (1 day)
2. Clay vocabulary; I’m sorry, I have no idea
what you’re talking about.
3. Work in progress; greenware (5 days)
4. Dispense and preview rubric
5. Formative assessment
6. Glazing demonstration
7. Glaze pots (2 days)
Day 13: Critique
1. Find a work a person you know would like.
Why do you think s/he would like it?
2. Find a work you think an artist would like.
Why do you think s/he would like this?
3. Find a work you wonder about. What do you
wonder?
4. Find a work you know something about.
What do you know?
5. Find a work that is familiar. Why is it familiar?
Rubric
The student will earn a number from 0 to 10 for each of the five requirements listed
below. Total possible points equal 50.
10
9
8
7
6
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
46 - 50
41 - 45
37 - 40
32 - 36
31 - below
A
B
C
D
F
1.Did the student design a clay pot that is communicative of his/her self-identity via
innovative symbols, surface design, and/or form?
2.Did the student perform fundamental hand building approaches in clay, such as
coils, slabs, and pinch?
3.Did the student construct a Rest Pot based on a personal interpretation of Egyptian
Canopic jars?
4.Did the student analyze meaning and intention in works of art via critique?
5.Did the student have a positive attitude toward all members of the classroom
community?
Statement: Rest Pots
Ms. Ward’s 3-D Art students recently learned about the Egyptians and their
ceramic canopic jars. These jars held mummified organs and were often
placed in the tomb of the deceased--along with food, drink, cosmetics and
valuables.
The visual art students chose any one item (animate or inanimate) that
they found particularly valuable and/or sentimental. After journaling, the
students then sculpted a ceramic Rest Pot that reflected this item.
The student will be able to…
•design a clay pot that is communicative of his/her personality via
innovative symbols, surface design, and/or form. Standard 1
•perform fundamental hand building approaches in clay, such as: a coil,
slab or pinch pot. Standard 3
•construct a Rest Pot based on a personal interpretation of Egyptian
canopic jars. Standard 4
Questions?