\n\tThe goddess Hathor has been incorporated here into the body of a bekhen sistrum, a percussion instrument similar to a rattle. The top portion, now lost, consisted of a monumental doorway, between which were suspended small metal discs that would clink and clack together to produce sound. The structure was in turn superimposed upon this support, which has a\n\t\n\thead of the goddess on both sides. A performer would hold the handle and shake it back and forth, activating the metal discs, as can be seen in the tomb painting just above. The Egyptian name for the instrument, sesheshet, was also the term for the sounds it created, understood as the sounds of dried reeds rustling against each other as Hathor, in either her anthropomorphic or bovine form, walked through them. The entire instrument is made of blue or green faience, making it both a visually and sonically powerful object.\n
Comparative image: Egypt, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, (ca. 1365 BCE), Fragment of two princesses with sistra. Egyptian Museum, Berlin (inv. no. 18526). Photo: Andreas Praefcke\n
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