In ancient Egypt, a tomb was not simply a place for the burial of remains, but rather the site of qu

In ancient Egypt, a tomb was not simply a place for the burial of remains, but rather the site of quite literal rebirth. Here, the individual’s soul was born again, into the afterlife. But surprisingly, the ancient Egyptians believed that to make this rebirth possible for a woman, it was necessary that she briefly turn into a man, in order to conceive the fetus of her reborn self. Guided by new research inspired in part by feminist scholarship, our collection exhibition A Woman’s Afterlife: Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt explores how this process was thought to take place.Clappers were percussion instruments played by women and used to keep the rhythm in both sacred and secular music. Musicians even played mood music in erotic situations depicted in some tombs. Singing appropriate songs also eased the pains of childbirth. Thus these musical instruments were a valued addition to objects in the tomb, where conception and birth were essential to entering the afterlife.Pair of Clappers.  Provenance not known New Kingdom, Dynasty 18–Dynasty 20, circa 1539–1075 b.c.e. Bone. Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 58.28.7a-b Brooklyn Museum -- source link

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