Statuette of cat
Bastet was a powerful goddess of Lower Egypt, one who was protective and could bring about great prosperity. In zoomorphic form, she was represented as a cat and cats were considered sacred to her. As a cat, she is poised and alert, on guard against external forces.
Like cat-headed Bastet statuettes, these seated cats often have special adornments, like earrings or broad collars. This figure wears an amulet on its chest, probably an aegis. Cat statuettes were among some of the most common zoomorphic dedications of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. Small statuettes would have been dedicated as offerings to temples or deposited in catacombs alongside cat mummies, as at the extensive catacombs at Bubastis and Saqqara. Sometimes larger hollow examples held a cat mummy inside.
Like cat-headed Bastet statuettes, these seated cats often have special adornments, like earrings or broad collars. This figure wears an amulet on its chest, probably an aegis. Cat statuettes were among some of the most common zoomorphic dedications of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. Small statuettes would have been dedicated as offerings to temples or deposited in catacombs alongside cat mummies, as at the extensive catacombs at Bubastis and Saqqara. Sometimes larger hollow examples held a cat mummy inside.
Artwork Details
- Title: Statuette of cat
- Period: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
- Date: 664–30 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Cupreous metal
- Dimensions: H. 11 cm (4 5/16 in.); W. 3 cm (1 3/16 in.); L. 6 cm (2 3/8 in.)
H. (with tang): 12 cm (4 3/4 in.) - Credit Line: Gift of Darius Ogden Mills, 1904
- Object Number: 04.2.598
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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550–300 B.C.
ca. 945–712 BCE
332–30 BCE
390–246 BCE
610–595 B.C.
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