This part is shaped like an Egyptian sanctuary or a door, a naos. Some sistra are arched and made of metal (Fig. 1). The ones with a naos, like ours, are often made of faience; it is a type of sistrum that is known throughout Egyptian history. Sistra made of faience were used as an offering for the goddess Hathor. On the history of the sistrum see M. Reynders, ‘Sšš.t and sḫm: Names and Types of the Egyptian Sistrum’, in W. Clarysse, A. Schoors and H. Willems (eds.), Egyptian Religion: The Last Thousand Years, part II (Peeters; Leuven, 1998), 1013. On the connection between faience and Hathor see F. D. Friedman, ‘Faience: the Brilliance of Eternity’, in F. D. Friedman (ed.), Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience (Museum of Art; London, 1998), 15-21.