Woman with Barrel-Shaped Drum

The barrel-shaped drum may have been introduced to Egypt from the south. Egyptian images often show such drums being played by Nubian or Sudanese soldiers in Egyptian employ. In images dating to before Dynasty XXV (circa 775–653 B.C.), the drummers are always men. This rare three-dimensional image of a female drummer could thus be as early as Dynasty XXV, when women drummers first appeared in reliefs. However, it also has some stylistic parallels with reliefs of the fourth century B.C.