Paddle doll

[3] Paddle dolls are made of thin pieces of wood which depict the torso of a woman with truncated arms and no legs.

Thick "hair" is represented by small beads strung along string, which are often made from black mud.

[5] Egyptologists have determined that paddle dolls represent female members of the Theban khener-troupe of singers and dancers that served at religious ceremonies for the goddess Hathor and were perhaps appended by Nebhepetre to his royal mortuary cult at Deir el-Bahari.

One discarded hypothesis identified the artifacts as fertility symbols placed in burials to guarantee eternal rebirth.

[7] The hypothesis stated the paddle dolls’ emphasis on feminine attributes such as the breast, hips, and pubic area symbolized the sexual aspects of regeneration.