LATE PERIOD TO PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.

In ancient Egypt, the cat was sacred to Bastet, goddess of motherhood and the home. Her cult centers, which rose to prominence during the Third Intermediate Period, were called Bubasteion, and were numerous in Egypt. The main one was in the Nile delta region, in the modern city of Tell Basta, which in antiquity was called Per-Bastet. Mummified cats, as well as statues made of wood or bronze, like the present example, were dedicated to the goddess and buried at her temples, functioning as votives for the deity. For a similar example, see the one in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 56.16.1 (no. 26 in D. Arnold, ed., Falken, Katzen, Krokodile: Tiere im Alten Ägypten: Aus den Sammlungen des Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, und des Ägyptischen Museums Kairo).