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Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Sistrum with the Names of Senwosret I

Middle Kingdom

ca. 1961-1917 B.C.

Not on view

This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.

Sistra were cultic instruments used by royal women and others for the worship of Hathor, though the goddess herself could also hold one. When shaken, metal disks on a crossbar produced a soothing tinkling sound that could perhaps summon the goddess. Senwosret I donated the rare Middle Kingdom sistrum exhibited here to an unidentified sanctuary. The face depicts the goddess Bat, whose cult was incorporated into that of Hathor.

Sistrum with the Names of Senwosret I, Faience — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Sistrum with the Names of Senwosret I

Period: Middle Kingdom

Dynasty: Dynasty 12

Reign: Senwosret I

Date: ca. 1961-1917 B.C.

Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes

Medium: Faience

Dimensions: H. 5.9 cm (2 5/16 in.); W. 6.8 cm (2 11/16 in.); D. 3.9 cm (1 9/16 in.)

Credit Line: Lender Johns Hopkins University Archaeological Museum for Eton College, Windsor, England

The Met

Egyptian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 26,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from the Paleolithic to the Roman period.