Special instruments were used by priests and priestesses to invoke the deities or to perform rituals before them. One of the most important instruments was the sistrum, a rattle associated with the goddess Hathor. The goddess's face is often incorporated into the sistrum's design, as is, in this example, an image of the god Bes, which serves as the object's handle. Inside of the naos-shaped top is a small cat below the clappers.
For the latest information about this object, sistra, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style:
[Found in Upper Egypt]; Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1913, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
