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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.3
Title
Cat
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
mid 7th-late 1st century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient)
Period
Late Period to Ptolemaic
Culture
Egyptian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303819

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
3.7 x 0.9 x 1.8 cm (1 7/16 x 3/8 x 11/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 89.51; Sn, 6.31; Pb, 3.39; Zn, 0.009; Fe, 0.03; Ni, 0.08; Ag, 0.07; Sb, 0.33; As, 0.27; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.011; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is mottled green and black. There are deep-seated green and red corrosion products. The surface on the proper left side of the face is completely lost and the current surface lies about 1 mm below that of the surrounding areas. Both ears are missing, as is almost two-thirds of the elongated tang at the base. The metal is heavily corroded and approximately half is mineralized. The cat is a solid cast. No evidence can be found to indicate that the metal was cold worked.


Nancy Lloyd (submitted 2001)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894
Accession Year
1932
Object Number
1932.56.3
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
Small statuettes of cats such as this are known to have been placed in the linen bandages of mummified cats (1). Its features are indistinct due to its small scale and corrosion, but its feline character is apparent in its erect posture. The figure also lacks part of its tail. A thin rectangular base along the bottom edge preserves the traces of an attachment tenon running from front to back.

The seated cat was the most popular animal depicted in bronze during the first millennium BCE and accompanied the increasingly widespread recognition of sacred animal cults from the Late Period through the Ptolemaic (664-30 BCE) (2). The house cat, as the domesticated counterpart to the wild feline, especially the lion, appears in Egyptian art at least as early as the Middle Kingdom (c. 2134-1665 BCE). The male, or tomcat, was associated with the sun god, and in the New Kingdom (c. 1571-1076 BCE) played an important role in the Book of the Dead as the slayer of the Apophis serpent, enemy of the sun god. In all likelihood, however, the bronze statuettes represent the female cat and are connected with a series of goddesses, in particular Bastet.

Bastet was an ancient goddess, known from at least the beginning of the Old Kingdom (c. 2687-2191 BCE). She and several other goddesses associated with the solar element were represented as feline-headed. Over time, she acquired the more benevolent characteristics of the domesticated cat, known for its fertility and nocturnal sex life, in opposition to the more threatening leonine aspects assumed by the goddess Sekhmet. In this role, Bastet and, by extension, cats were seen to be peaceful and protective. While there were other goddesses who manifested themselves as cats, for example Pakhet (“She Who Scratches”) in Middle Egypt, Bastet’s supremacy rose during the first millennium, probably as a direct result of her connection to the rulers of Dynasty 22 (c. 931-725 BCE) who came from Bubastis, the ancient cult center of Bastet.

Bubastis (modern Tell Basta near Zagazig in the eastern Delta), in addition to other Egyptian sites, became the site of a large cat cemetery at the temple of Bastet, in which mummified cats were deposited as votives. Skeletal evidence suggests that the mummified cats had been intentionally killed while still young, rather than having been cherished pets that died of natural causes (3). Small cat figurines were often wrapped in the linen bandages of the mummified remains, which were in turn placed in bronze or wooden containers in the shape of seated cats. Many of the larger, hollow-cast bronze cats can be interpreted in this way and retain an opening into the body cavity. The majority of the bronzes, however, were dedicated in shrines.

The dedication of cat mummies and votive statues has been connected to a highly institutionalized cult of the king, which may explain the large number and standardized iconography of the bronzes (4). Although there is a wide variety of types preserved, most of the bronzes achieve an anatomical correctness and express the essence of cats—haughty dignity and aloofness. They assume the seated position with head held erect and tail curled along the right side as in the hieroglyphic sign. One or both of the ears tend to be pierced, and gold hoop earrings remain on some examples. The frequent presence of a scarab beetle placed on the forehead and a pectoral on the chest suggests the protective function and solar connection of such figures.

NOTES:

1. G. Roeder, Ägyptische Bronzefiguren, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 6 (Berlin, 1956) 344.

2. J. Málek, The Cat in Ancient Egypt (Philadelphia, 1993) 98-105.

3. D. Schorsch and J. H. Frantz, “A Tale of Two Kitties,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 55.3 (1997): 16-29, esp. 17-18.

4. For discussion of sacred animals and the royal cult, see D. Kessler, Die Heiligen Tiere und der König, Ägypten und Altes Testament 16 (Wiesbaden, 1989).


Marian Feldman

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu