Cylinder seal with an image of seated Hathor

This cylinder seal bears a roughly incised cartouche and the Horus of Gold name of King Menkaure of Dynasty 4. The most striking part of the seal, however, is the image of a deity shown seated on a throne and holding a was scepter, with her head topped by cow horns. While her name is not given on the seal, the iconography of a cow-horned goddess plus the association with Menkaure strongly suggest that this goddess should be identified as Hathor.

While substantially smaller and less gracefully executed than contemporaneous Menkaure triads that also feature Hathor, this cylinder seal is still significant as one of the earliest figural representations of the goddess. Notably, the goddess lacks Hathor’s usual sun disk between her cow horns, perhaps suggesting that the solar aspect of Hathor and her connection to Re were still being formalized when it was manufactured. The seal therefore speaks to a time when not only Hathor’s iconography but also her importance to the king, and to kingship more broadly, were still being established.