For the ancient Egyptians, the goddess Isis was the model of the loyal wife and mother, as well as a powerful magician. She was the wife of the god Osiris and the mother of Horus. Just as the king of Egypt was associated with Horus in life and Osiris in death. The crown composed of a sun-disk and cow horns originally belonged to Hathor, but was assimilated by Isis.

A further association with funerary religion is Isis’s role as protector of one of the four sons of Horus, the deities who protected the internal organs removed during the mummification process and placed in containers known as canopic jars. The heads of the gods Hapy, Imsety, Qebehsenuef and Duamutef decorated the lids of these containers. Each of these gods was protected by a goddess. Isis watched over Imsety, the human-headed god, while Nephthys, Neith and Selket guarded the others.