Sistrum Handle with the Head of Hathor

This sistrum handle depicts a molded bust of the goddess Hathor, whose face appears on the front and back, although one side is more carefully rendered than the other. She is frontal, wearing a prominent wig, parted in the middle and with curls at each end. Her cow-shaped ears are rendered flat on the outside of the wig. The face is round, with large wide-set eyes, a broad flat nose, wide mouth, round cheeks, and flat chin. Below the chin is a raised area, and a plain broad collar is rendered. On both sides of the head of Hathor, facing outward, is a cobra wearing a crown. The cobras are attached to the handle at the top of the crown and at the body, although the area behind the heads and most of the crowns are completely detached from the handle. Above the bust of Hathor is a seated cat, which is modeled in the round, possibly associating this piece with Bastet (1). The cat sits on a molded band that resembles an entablature, with a beaded border at the top and bottom and a row of rectangles resembling triglyphs in the middle. The tip of the cat’s left ear is missing. The cat faces in the same direction as the more carefully rendered side of the handle. On either side of the cat are the remains of the curving frame that would have held the crossbars that created the rattling sound. The handle itself is cylindrical, with raised bands at the top and bottom. 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 (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 some are unadorned. NOTES: 1. Thanks are due to E. Russo, Brown University, for this information. 2. E. Russo, pers. comm. 3. S. De Caro, The National Archaeological Museum of Naples (Naples, 1996) 132. Lisa M. Anderson and Marian Feldman