Penannular earrings such as this are a bit of mystery. They may be simply hoop earrings with a particularly narrow opening.  They might be clipped directly onto the earlobe; some, but by no means all, similar earrings have wires to attach to the earring and to pass through a hole in the earlobe.

Some Egyptologists believe the penannular rings without wire attachments may be hair ornaments, with strands of  hair packed in through the cleft.  Unfortunately for this theory, no images of people wearing such hair ornaments have been found. There have also been suggestions that such earrings were not worn in life, but were left with the mummy as token or symbolic jewellery.