Egyptian Statue of a Cat in the University of Pennsylvania Museum, November 2009

Statue of a Cat
Provenance unknown
Dynasty 22 (945-712 BC) or later
Bronze with gold leaf

# E14284

The cat was an important animal in ancient Egypt. Not only were cats useful household pets, but the cat was often associated with the goddess Bastet. Bastet is often shown as a cat or cat headed woman. She was a goddess of fertility and the home. Enormous cat cemeteries associated with the cult of Bastet existed at a number of sites throughout Egypt. Sacred cats were mummified and buried in these cemeteries, often enclosed in cat-shaped coffins of wood or bronze. This example is hollow and the interior is large enough to have contained a cat mummy. There is a collar incised around her neck with a pendant in the shape of an aegis. Gold leaf has been applied to the eyes.

Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.