Naos-Sistrum with Bes-Shaped Handle
Description
<p>Special instruments were used by priests and priestesses to invoke the deities or to perform rituals before them. One of the most important instruments was the sistrum, a rattle associated with the goddess Hathor. The goddess's face is often incorporated into the sistrum's design, as is, in this example, an image of the god Bes, which serves as the object's handle. Inside of the naos-shaped top is a small cat below the clappers. </p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/54.493' rel='external'>Naos-Sistrum with Bes-Shaped Handle</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
Bronze/copper-alloy ritual object with a tall open rectangular frame (naos-like) atop a goblet-shaped element and a stacked figure (or decorative column) ending in a small base; a stylized face appears on the headpiece.
The image shows a single metal artifact against a white background. At the top is an open rectangular frame with rounded corners and a small horizontal bar across the top; two small loop-like elements hang from the left and right sides. Beneath the frame is a goblet-like bowl decorated with a low-relief human face (stylized facial features). Below the bowl, the shaft is articulated in segments resembling repeating small figures/standards or stacked decorative forms; a second face is visible on one of the lower segments. The lower end tapers to a compact base. No clear hieroglyphic inscription, cartouche, or text is visible anywhere on the object in this image. The object matches the catalogue concept of a naos/sistrum-type implement with a Bes-shaped handle in overall form, but the specific Bes identification is not fully clear from the photograph alone.
Cross-references (2)
- Walters-AccNum 54.493 tier-2
- Walters-id 15898 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.