Harvard Art Museums > 2015.167: Double-sided Hathor Emblem from a Sistrum Musical Instruments Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Double-sided Hathor Emblem from a Sistrum , 2015.167,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/354559. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2015.167 Title Double-sided Hathor Emblem from a Sistrum Classification Musical Instruments Work Type musical instrument Date 664 BCE-343 BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient) Period Late Period Culture Egyptian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/354559 Location Location Level 3, Room 3740, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Egypt: Art for Eternity View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Faience Technique Molded Dimensions 11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History [Charles Dikran Kelekian, New York (by 1969-1981)] sold; to Bob and Sally Huxley, Pennsylvania, (1981-2015), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2015. Footnote: Kelekian inv. T.4475 Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Robert and Sally Huxley Accession Year 2015 Object Number 2015.167 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description This double-sided emblem of the cow-eared, Egyptian goddess Hathor comes from a sistrum or ceremonial rattle. The goddess is frontal, wearing a straight wig, parted in the center, and bound with straight ribbons. Her triangle shaped face is flat with wide-set eyes, broad cheeks, and a flat chin. Her characteristically cow-shaped ears are rendered as flat on either side of the wig. Below her face is a round broad collar with a simple pattern of tube and drop beads. On each of her shoulder sits a uraeus, the upright rearing cobra, holding a sun-disk on its head. A molded cornice above the goddess’ head holds the lower part of the architectural frame of the naos, or temple, within which sits a uraeus. The main part of the naos, which would have extended upwards to form the remainder of the structure, is now lost. The emblem would have been attached to a handle, also lost, that may have included inscriptions to a pharaoh. Commentary The sistrum was a type of musical instrument shaken at festivals and during religious rituals. Sistra were associated with female deities, especially Hathor, who was the goddess of love, childbirth and ‘female’ activities, such as song and dance. Bronze or wooden sistra were shaken to produce a characteristic "sesheshet" rustling sound, which was said to imitate the rustle of papyrus leaves and believed to sooth or pacify the goddess. Faience sistra were not typically used for this purpose because their material could not create the desired noise. Instead, these objects were left as votive objects at temples and many bear dedicatory inscriptions of pharaohs on the handle or naos [1]. Faience sistra bearing the emblem of Hathor have been found in sanctuaries to the goddess where they were left by her devotees. 1. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 36.337 inscribed to king Amasis, 26th Dynasty; Metropolitan Museum of Art, Naos Sistrum with the name of Apries, no. 17.190.1959, c. 589-570 BCE. Exhibition History 32Q: 3740 Egyptian, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/01/2022 - 05/01/2026 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
