The woman is seated on a cushioned stool. Her head is graced by a lotus flower which retains traces of color, as do the lips. In her left hand she holds a lotus flower, in her right a counterweight for a menat necklace, a ritual instrument used in the cult of Hathor, goddess of sensuality and dance. The tresses of the wig resting lightly on the arm reflect a delight in detail often observed in the art of the time. The inscription evokes for the deceased “everything that comes forth in the presence of the gods of Memphis for the Osiris, the lady Hel…”, and qualifies as "one who makes music for (her) lady",
The size of the statue and its finesse – in spite of an evident asymmetry – indicate that Hel was a high-ranking person. The seated type and the fact that the back was left rough clearly denotes that the sculpture originally stood in a tomb chapel. The tomb must have stood in Saqqara, the necropolis of Memphis, where the Egyptian elites of the time had splendid burial monuments built for themselves, graced with statues of very similar style.
