Ostracon Depicting a Queen Holding a Sistrum

New Kingdom, Ramesside
ca. 1295–1070 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 124
A queen/queen mother, identifiable by the vulture cap with uraeus that she wears, shakes two arc sistra. The fully preserved example has a Hathor emblem below the arc. On the queen's head is a modius of uraei whose bodies are extremely elongated. She wears a fine transparent linen over-garment open at the front revealing her sensual figure. Her overlarge eye and the quick line of her profile give her face a lively air.

New Kingdom queens and princesses played the sistrum in temple ceremonies, and may be found doing so in temple scenes at many sites. This ostracon was left in the Valley of the Kings by the workmen from Deir el Medina who executed the tombs in the Valley, but it is difficult to see its connection to the work in the Valley. The few royal women buried in the valley are not depicted shaking sistra. The workmen worked at many other sites, for instance, the Valley of Queens where queens do shake the sistrum, royal temples on the west bank, or the temple of their own village, so it is possible this piece was a drawing or study for another project.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ostracon Depicting a Queen Holding a Sistrum
  • Period: New Kingdom, Ramesside
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 19–20
  • Date: ca. 1295–1070 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Workmen's Huts near KV 55 (site 18) or between KV 18 and KV 21, or from chip heaps in same branch of Valley, Davis/Ayrton excavations, 1907–08
  • Medium: Limestone, paint
  • Dimensions: H. 27.4 × w. 9.4 × d. 2.5 cm (9 3/4 × 3 11/16 × 1 in.)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Theodore M. Davis, 1909
  • Object Number: 09.184.197
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.