Artwork Page for Cat Coffin

Details / Information for Cat Coffin

Cat Coffin

305–30 BCE

Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty

(305–30 BCE)
Medium
bronze, hollow cast
Measurements
Overall: 51 x 14.1 x 24 cm (20 1/16 x 5 9/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1917.998
Public Domain
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Location
107 Egyptian
Print
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Did You Know?

A necklace appears to have been incised or scratched into the finished bronze; faint traces are visible on the chest.

Description

Although the cat is considered the most Egyptian of animals, as an object of worship the cat does not appear until late in Egyptian history. This unusually large statue of a cat was made to hold the mummified remains of a sacred cat. The coffin is, of course, hollow, with an open bottom. As usual, the animal’s tail is curled around its right side.
Grey-brown, bronze cat coffin in the shape of a cat seated on its high legs, front paws pressed together. Its tail curves around its right side where the tip meets with its front paws. The cat looks straight out, its eyelids finely detailed and with its left pointed ear partially chipped away. Looking at its chest, among the chipped bronze with slight green discoloration, faint, curving lines can be seen scratched into the surface.

Cat Coffin

305–30 BCE

Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE)

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