Head of a cat
The cat was sacred to the goddess Bastet, and was offered in sanctuaries and deposited in animal necropoleis throughout Egypt. This cat has bold features including large, deeply-inset eyes and strong cheekbones. Close, repeated incised lines mark the hairs in the ears and the whiskers below the nose. Both ears are pierced and would have had earrings, probably of precious metal.
The function of these large cat heads is ambiguous. They have been found in offering contexts, and it is commonly assumed that they formed part of a composite statuette; the full statuette, when intact, probably would have had a hollow wooden body and held a cat mummy inside, much as similar large hollow copper alloy statuettes did. However, these figures are almost never found with the composite bodies, even at sites where wood is relatively well preserved. It is possible that in some cases these cat heads were dedicated on their own, or were purposefully disassembled from their bodies, which were then discarded or used in another way.
The function of these large cat heads is ambiguous. They have been found in offering contexts, and it is commonly assumed that they formed part of a composite statuette; the full statuette, when intact, probably would have had a hollow wooden body and held a cat mummy inside, much as similar large hollow copper alloy statuettes did. However, these figures are almost never found with the composite bodies, even at sites where wood is relatively well preserved. It is possible that in some cases these cat heads were dedicated on their own, or were purposefully disassembled from their bodies, which were then discarded or used in another way.
Artwork Details
- Title: Head of a cat
- Period: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
- Date: 664–30 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Cupreous metal
- Dimensions: H. 12.2 cm (4 13/16 in.); W. 8.2 cm (3 1/4 in.); D. 10.4 cm (4 1/8 in.)
- Credit Line: Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910
- Object Number: 10.130.1333
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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246–222 B.C.
550–300 B.C.
ca. 733–664 BCE
ca. 945–712 BCE
ca. 664–525 BCE
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