Cowrie Shell Girdle of Sithathoryunet

Middle Kingdom

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 111

Beginning in prehistoric times, shells were used for adornment and seem to have been fertility symbols. Cowrie-shell girdles are often seen in Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom art around the hips of nude female figurines (see for example 08.200.18).

Sithathoryunet's cowries are made of thin sheet gold. Seven are hollow and contain metal pellets that jingle; the eighth is cleverly constructed as a sliding clasp. The pellets would have made a soft sound when the wearer walked or, more likely, danced. The cowrie beads alternate with groups of small beads shaped like the seeds from an acacia tree; when strung together, they resemble the pods from these trees.

Cowrie Shell Girdle of Sithathoryunet, Gold, carnelian, feldspar, pellets of copper-silver alloy

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Cowrie Shell Girdle of Sithathoryunet, Gold, carnelian, feldspar, pellets of copper-silver alloy
Cowrie Shell Girdle of Sithathoryunet, Gold, carnelian, feldspar, pellets of copper-silver alloy
Cowrie Shell Girdle of Sithathoryunet, Gold, carnelian, feldspar, pellets of copper-silver alloy
Cowrie Shell Girdle of Sithathoryunet, Gold, carnelian, feldspar, pellets of copper-silver alloy

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