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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1949.106.A-C
Title
Sistrum
Classification
Musical Instruments
Work Type
musical instrument
Date
1st century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt?
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Egyptian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304019

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3740, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Egypt: Art for Eternity
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Brass
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
15.1 x 2.6 x 1 cm (5 15/16 x 1 x 3/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Brass:
Cu, 78.87; Sn, 0.83; Pb, 0.1; Zn, 19.9; Fe, 0.15; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.08; Sb, 0.06; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Brass
Alloying Elements: copper, zinc
Other Elements: tin, lead, iron, silver, antimony

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is green with areas of brown. There is a break on one side above the crossbar holes. The surface is well preserved.

The main section was cast as a single unit. The thin vertical arms have hammer marks on much of the surface. They were cold worked to a thin, uniform dimension after casting. This would have strengthened this relatively delicate portion of the casting. The holes, which are very precise and show few artifacts of the drilling process, were made after the flat elements were hammered. The heavy wire crossbars show many hammer marks and were probably given most of their current dimension and shape by hammering. The slight projection at the bottom of the handle could be related to an attachment, but it has a smooth rather than broken texture. It could also be an appendage left from the casting process.


Tony Sigel

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. Norman Vuilleumier on behalf of Mrs. Clifford Moore's Estate
Accession Year
1949
Object Number
1949.106.A-C
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The sistrum was a musical instrument that created sound through the rattling of its metal pieces; the Egyptian name for these instruments, sesheshet or sesheshat, is onomatopoetic and mimics the instruments’ rattling sound (1). In this example, the four crossbars were threaded through holes in the frame and prevented from falling out by twisting the ends in opposite directions (2).

The instrument played an important part in the rites of the goddesses such as Hathor and Isis. It is often depicted as insignia of young female participants of these cults. With the spread of the Isis cult, examples of sistra have been found throughout the Roman world, including Pompeii (3). Many examples incorporate the head of Hathor along with other ornaments, although this sistrum is unadorned. The frame of the sistrum is roughly rectangular with an elegant triangular pediment. It represents the naos, or shrine, of the goddess. The handle tapers from an oval cross section down to a round one at the bottom and is terminated by a conical finial, perhaps a simplification of the papyrus column. Three of the four crossbars survive, one of which is broken and no longer secured within the frame.

NOTES:

1. Thanks are due to E. Russo, Brown University, for this information.

2. Compare a similar sistrum in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 19.5.

3. S. De Caro, The National Archaeological Museum of Naples (Naples, 1996) 132.


Marian Feldman

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3740 Egyptian, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/01/2022 - 05/01/2026
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/17/2014 - 02/13/2015

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu