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

Details

AN EGYPTIAN BRONZE CAT HEAD
LATE PERIOD, DYNASTY XXVI-XXX, CIRCA 6TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
Hollow-cast, with alert expression, pierced upright ears, with space between for scarab, the eyes also recessed for inlay, now missing, and the short whiskers and ears with detailed markings
4 in. (10.2 cm.) high

Provenance

The Groppi Collection, Switzerland; acquired in the 1920s-1940s.

Exhibited

Antikensmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig und Museum August Kestner Hannover, Köstlichkeiten aus Kairo!, 2008, no. 63.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

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Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
Exhibition catalogue, Köstlichkeiten aus Kairo!, Antikensmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig und Museum August Kestner Hannover, 2008, p. 119, no. 63.

The cat was sacred to the goddess Bastet. Her cult centres, called Bubasteion, were numerous in Egypt. The main one was in the Nile delta region, in the modern city of Tell Basta, which was called Per-Bastet in Ancient Egypt and Bubastis in Greek.

The cat's head was adorned with a scarab, the symbol of regeneration, probably made of faience.

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