The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Cat

664–30 BCE OR 664–330 BCE

Egypt, Late period , Dynasty 26 or later

(715–332 BCE)
bronze and gold
Overall: 9.2 x 2.3 x 5.5 cm (3 5/8 x 7/8 x 2 3/16 in.); without tang: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.)
Bequest of John L. Severance 1942.776
Location: 107 Egyptian

Description

Cats were the sacred animal of Bastet, Egyptian goddess of fire, cats, and protector of the home. Sitting upright in a pose characteristic of these feline figurines, this bronze cat adorned with an embossed pendant and gold earring was made as a votive offering to be deposited with the deceased.
  • Purchased from R.H. Blanchard, Blanchard's Egyptian Museum, Cairo, by John L. Severance
  • Catalogue of the John L. Severance Collection: Bequest of John L. Severance, 1936. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942. Mentioned: p. 86, cat. no. 265 archive.org
    Wunderlich, Silvia. "Department of Egyptian Art: Bronzes." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 29, no. 9 (November 1942): 158-159 Mentioned: p. 158 www.jstor.org
    Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 437
  • Exhibition of the John L. Severance Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 12, 1942-March 14, 1943).
    CMA 1942, no. 265
  • {{cite web|title=Cat|url=false|author=|year=664–30 BCE OR 664–330 BCE|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.776