This is a statue of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis nursing Horus. In ancient Egyptian mythology, Isis was the goddess of magic and healing. She raised and protected her son Horus alone and eventually avenged her father Osiris. This image of "suckling Isis" (Lactans) was very popular in the later period of Egyptian history to the Ptolemaic period (c. 664 BC to 30 BC).

It is a ceramic or stone container used in ancient Egyptian funeral customs to preserve the internal organs of the deceased. In the mummification process of ancient Egypt, the heart was considered the dwelling place of the soul and therefore remained in the body, while other internal organs were removed and stored separately in canopic jars to prevent the body from rotting. These jars are usually accompanied by four different head sculptures representing the four guardian gods of ancient Egyptian mythology, namely the Kanopik god: Imseti with a human head, Hapi with a baboon head, Douamutiv with a jackal head, and Kebshannav with a falcon head. Each god guards a specific organ: the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines.