Ivory clapper in the form of a right hand of the type used in Hathor rituals. Incised detail on the fingers, thumb and wrist. Cross hatching at the wrist for a braclet and pierced at elbow. Tip of the thumb is missing. Clappers or hand wands such as this one were used by dancers who clapped them together. They also had protective significance as the noise produced by clacking the wands together was believed to keep evil spirits away during critical moments such as childbirth or puberty rituals. Their protective power also accompanied the ritual renewal of the king’s vigour during the Heb Sed Festival and assisted in the rebirth of a deceased person into the afterlife.

CONDITION NOTE (1998): Incomplete, surface dirt, discoloured.

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Ivory clapper in the form of a right hand of the type used in Hathor rituals. Incised detail on the fingers, thumb and wrist. Cross hatching at the wrist for a braclet and pierced at elbow. Tip of the thumb is missing. Clappers or hand wands such as this one were used by dancers who clapped them together. They also had protective significance as the noise produced by clacking the wands together was believed to keep evil spirits away during critical moments such as childbirth or puberty rituals. Their protective power also accompanied the ritual renewal of the king’s vigour during the Heb Sed Festival and assisted in the rebirth of a deceased person into the afterlife. CONDITION NOTE (1998): Incomplete, surface dirt, discoloured.

Clapper

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