Wall Painting of a Priestess Holding a Sistrum in the Walters Art Museum, September 2009

Wall Painting: Woman Holding a Sistrum


Creator: Egyptian (Artist)

Period: ca. 1250-1200 BC (New Kingdom)

Medium: neutral gray, red, black, white, blue and yellow paint on plaster over mud (Painting & Drawing)

Accession Number: 32.9

Measurements: H: 9 7/16 x W: 6 11/16 x D: 1 5/8 in. (24 x 17 x 4.2 cm)

Geographies: Deir el-Medina (present-day Western Thebes, Egypt) (?) (Place of Origin)

The woman in this fragmentary painting from a tomb wall has a wig of long, full hair, held in place by a flowered headband and topped with an ointment cone, a perfumed substance placed on wigs that gave off a fragrant aroma as it melted. A lotus blossom adorns the front of the headband. She holds a rattle called a sistrum, which women often played during temple ceremonies. What remains of the inscription suggests that she may have served with the temple staff of the god Amen.

Text from: art.thewalters.org/detail/18116/wall-painting-woman-holdi...