Lot 105
105
A LARGE EGYPTIAN BRONZE HEAD OF A CAT
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus bu… Read more THE PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTOR Provenance: the majority of this collection (lots 105-116) was formed in the late 19th and early 20th Century.
A LARGE EGYPTIAN BRONZE HEAD OF A CAT

LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.

Details
A LARGE EGYPTIAN BRONZE HEAD OF A CAT
LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
Ears pointed upwards with alert feline expression, mounted
6½ in. (16.5 cm.) high
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Lot Essay

Cats were sacred in ancient Egypt and worshipped in the form of Bastet, whose great sanctuary was at Bubastis in the Delta of Lower Egypt, where cats were mummified and buried. Some cats appear to have been imported from Ethiopia or the Near East and were larger than our modern domesticated cats. The continuation of the worship of cats into Graeco-Roman times is reflected in the story of a mob in Alexandria who slaughtered a person who had accidentally killed a cat.

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