Ancient Egyptian (Unknown), CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cat Statuette intended to contain a mummified cat
by Ancient Egyptian (Unknown), -30
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- -30
- Medium
- Leaded bronze
- Size
- H. 27.4 × W. 11.9 × D. 23.3 cm, 2.5 kg (10 13/16 × 4 11/16 × 9 3/16 in., 5.5 lb.); With tangs: H. 32 cm (12 5/8 in.); With mount: 3.7 kg (8.2 lb.)
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Ancient Egyptian This sleek leaded bronze cat sits upright with controlled power in its muscles and long legs. It was designed as a hollow container for a mummified cat offered at a temple of the goddess Bastet. The pierced right ear once held a gold ring (now lost), and a wedjat-eye pendant hangs from its incised necklace.
Cats were first domesticated by Egyptians during the Middle Kingdom for catching mice. They later became household companions and sacred to Bastet. Mummified cats in bronze or wooden containers were donated at her temples, especially at Bubastis and Saqqara, then buried in vast underground catacombs.
It dates to the Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BCE), stands 27.4 cm (10.8 inches) tall, and is one of the finest examples of Late Period animal bronzework. It's in Gallery 134 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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About Cat Statuette intended to contain a mummified cat
A mummified cat. Bronze cat containers like this were offered at temples of the goddess Bastet, then buried in underground catacombs. Major sites for cat mummy burials include Bubastis and Saqqara.
Cats were sacred to Bastet, a major Egyptian goddess. First domesticated for catching mice during the Middle Kingdom, cats became household companions and eventually objects of religious devotion.
Gallery 134 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's leaded bronze from the Ptolemaic Period, standing 27.4 cm tall. The right ear originally held a gold ring, now lost.
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