Menat

[1][2] The menat was held in the hand by its counterpoise and used as a rattle by Hathor's priestesses.

[5] The menat typically included an aegis attached to beaded strings.

The necklace was meant to ensure good luck and fortune and to protect against evil spirits.

It was also worn for protection in the afterlife and is often found buried with the dead, given as a grave gift since Ramesside times.

[8] It was expected to foster fruitfulness and good health for women, and for men it signified virility.

The Malqata Menat , late Eighteenth Dynasty
An elaborate menat necklace depicted in a relief at the Temple of Hathor at Dendera