This young woman radiates grace and beauty. In ancient Egypt, nudity often represented youth, as does this girl's slim but feminine form. This elegant sculpture was created to serve as the handle for the accompanying mirror, and the girl's various features are integral to the role she symbolizes: a player in a cult of a powerful goddess, probably Hathor.

All temples held festivals to honor the deities who resided within. Food, clothing, music, dance, and incense all played a part in these celebrations, and decorative scenes from ancient Egyptian tombs and temples record these festivals. Hathor was one of the deities who was celebrated in this way. She was a powerful goddess whose responsibilities were many, but one of the best-known centered on fertility. As attractiveness encourages a union, women who took part in Hathor's festivals always displayed elaborate hairdos and ornate jewelry and carried symbols sacred to this goddess.

This girl is adorned with an elaborately curled wig, a broad collar, large earrings, and a patterned girdle or hip-belt. Her thighs bear decorative scarring, perhaps intended to enhance the body as they do in many cultures. In ancient Egypt, all these features would have communicated beauty to whoever looked at this mirror, including deities, in particular, Hathor.

In addition to the elements that indicate her attractiveness, this young woman carries objects that denote Hathor, which suggests that the figure is meant to be understood as in service to that goddess. In her left hand, the girl cradles a dom-palm nut, the favorite food of the green monkey, an animal who symbolizes sexuality and, therefore, Hathor herself. The young woman's right hand grasps a folded menat-necklace, shaken in cultic rituals to make music that would attract the goddess with its soft rattling sounds. Although the girl is charmingly serene, the forward position of her left leg and twist of her lower body are intended to communicate movement, a rare stance for a sculpture and not associated with traditional female statues.

This mirror's flat base tells us it was designed to stand upright and indicates ritual use. Depictions of mirrors with stands such as this can be found on other mirrors made some 300 years after this one. In these scenes, a young woman proffers the mirror to a powerful goddess.

The survival of objects that can be identified with a specific role in a temple cult is uncommon. This mirror is even more unusual, because it belongs to a brief period when a mirror could be created that not only signifies Hathor but the actual activities of her cult. Its excellent condition, the implied movement of the young woman, the symbols she carries, and the flat base join together to make this rare example of a mirror a unique addition to The Met collection.