Pin, hairpin

Upper portion of a pin carved in the form of a right hand holding the head of the goddess Isis. The head is gently balanced within the straight fingers of the hand, which are nicely detailed. The goddess is depicted with her hair styled in three coils framing the face and with a pendant lock on either side hanging to the shoulders. Crossed grooves across the back of the head indicate plaiting or interweaving. Her hair is surmounted by a solar crown, a sun-disc between cow's horns flanked by two ears of corn. The top of the shaft has a concentric raised band to denote a snake ornament coiled around the wrist.