The panel may have originally formed one of the four faces of a wooden Hathor column for a light open structure. The outer shrines of the divine naos on the river barques or processional barques of certain goddesses are sometimes depicted with columns having Hathor capitals. Other uses are certainly possible: although much earlier than this example, the New Kingdom tomb of Ipuy at Thebes depicts the construction of an openwork wooden catafalque for the deified king Amenhotep I that has a large Hathor emblem at the focus of what appears to be latticework.
