Egyptian bronze cat with inlays
26th Dynasty, c. 688-525 BC
Length: 11.8 cm
Provenance: Collection of Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970) and Paulette Goddard (1910-1990); Sold Sotheby's, London, 10 April 1978, lot 295; Private collection UK, acquired 1978; Sheikh Saoud Al Thani, acquired from the above 29 May 2008, and thence to his private foundation in 2014; Private collection UK, acquired 2017
This extraordinarily rare and finely modelled bronze of a nursing domestic cat is cast in the lost wax process and shows her reclining on her left side, with all four legs outstretched to reveal her prominent teats, emphasising the maternal, life-giving properties of the cat-goddess, Bastet. This sculpture, unusually for Egyptian art, is created to be viewed in the round and is truly a three-dimensional work of art.
The beautiful patina of the bronze is smooth and a complex combination of colour from malachite green to cuprite red, a map of the bronze’s burial dictated by the specific chemistry of the Egyptian soil, the proximity to ground water and the presence of salts and minerals.
Her naturalistic details include a well-defined musculature and ribcage. Her forelegs and left hind-leg protruding forward, while her right hind leg is extended back, her tail following its curve. Her finely worked face is lowered slightly, with whiskers, slender nose, ridged brow, and striated ears, each pierced for attachment of now lost earrings. The eyes are inlaid with gold for the whites and bitumen for the pupils, the tail also striped with silver inlays.
Presumably a votive offering at one of the many sites sacred to Bastet, there is an integral tang beneath her body for attachment to a now lost base, perhaps wood, and likely bearing an inscription from the donor praising the goddess Bastet and asking for protection. These inscriptions would typically be a version of the formula, “May Bastet give life and health to (individual's name)".
This sculpture may be unique in solely depicting a mother cat on her own. The other known examples of a nursing cat are shown with kittens cast in with the principal mother cat. This is not the case with this example from the collection of Erich Maria Remarque and the sculpture is clearly a ‘stand-alone’ piece.
Egyptian bronze cat with inlays
26th Dynasty, c. 688-525 BC
Length: 11.8 cm
Provenance: Collection of Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970) and Paulette Goddard (1910-1990); Sold Sotheby's, London, 10 April 1978, lot 295; Private collection UK, acquired 1978; Sheikh Saoud Al Thani, acquired from the above 29 May 2008, and thence to his private foundation in 2014; Private collection UK, acquired 2017
This extraordinarily rare and finely modelled bronze of a nursing domestic cat is cast in the lost wax process and shows her reclining on her left side, with all four legs outstretched to reveal her prominent teats, emphasising the maternal, life-giving properties of the cat-goddess, Bastet. This sculpture, unusually for Egyptian art, is created to be viewed in the round and is truly a three-dimensional work of art.
The beautiful patina of the bronze is smooth and a complex combination of colour from malachite green to cuprite red, a map of the bronze’s burial dictated by the specific chemistry of the Egyptian soil, the proximity to ground water and the presence of salts and minerals.
Her naturalistic details include a well-defined musculature and ribcage. Her forelegs and left hind-leg protruding forward, while her right hind leg is extended back, her tail following its curve. Her finely worked face is lowered slightly, with whiskers, slender nose, ridged brow, and striated ears, each pierced for attachment of now lost earrings. The eyes are inlaid with gold for the whites and bitumen for the pupils, the tail also striped with silver inlays.
Presumably a votive offering at one of the many sites sacred to Bastet, there is an integral tang beneath her body for attachment to a now lost base, perhaps wood, and likely bearing an inscription from the donor praising the goddess Bastet and asking for protection. These inscriptions would typically be a version of the formula, “May Bastet give life and health to (individual's name)".
This sculpture may be unique in solely depicting a mother cat on her own. The other known examples of a nursing cat are shown with kittens cast in with the principal mother cat. This is not the case with this example from the collection of Erich Maria Remarque and the sculpture is clearly a ‘stand-alone’ piece.
