Part of a sistrum

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Both sides of this piece show a triangular-shaped frontal face with cow’s ears. The faces are nicely modelled and surrounded by a curled wig that is bound at intervals with ribbons. Underneath each face is a collar composed of tube and drop beads. On either side of the faces is a uraeus with a sun disk. These two heads are so called Hathor emblems and they form the center part of a sistrum, a musical instrument that was used in rituals. Above the heads is a sound box that was shaped like an arch. Only the bottom part of the arch is preserved. It features two additional cobras, one each in the center of the front and back side. At the very bottom of the piece, below the collar, is the onset of a circular shaft, which is the sistrum’s handle that broke off and is lost today. Altogether the piece is rather small; this is not an actual sistrum but a miniature one that was used as a donation in a temple.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art