Coffin of a Cat

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodLate Period

Date722-332 BCE

MediumBronze

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions5 1/16 x 2 11/16 x 8 7/16 in., 1200 g (12.9 x 6.8 x 21.5 cm, 2 lb. 10 5/16 oz.)

Object number2018.010.004

Label TextCats and other animals were bred and embalmed in temples and buried in catacombs established for this purpose. Some cat mummies were placed in wooden cat-shaped containers, while others were interred in wood or bronze rectangular boxes. Offering these cat mummies in a temple was believed to help convey one’s prayer or gratitude to a feline deity.

This bronze coffin is surmounted by a cat figurine, representing the goddess Bastet. Generally, the primary orientation of figures in two-dimensional art was facing the viewer’s right. Because of this, cats’ tails are always depicted on the cat’s right side in sculpture, relief, and painting.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, February 20, 2024 - Present
Published ReferencesMelinda K. Hartwig, ed., Life and The Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 56.

ProvenanceSaid to be ex coll. Lord George Talbot. Ex coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California, possibly purchased from Roger Fernand Galliano, Paris, France.

Status

On view

Collections