Further images
Hollow cast sculpture of a seated cat, its tail curling round to the right, its upright forelegs holding its chest high, creating an elegant profile. The cat holds its head with a refined dignity, gazing straight ahead, its ears pricked. Intact, small crack at base of tail, the surface with a mottled red and green patina. The perforated earring holes filled in.
The statuette is a manifestation of the goddess Bastet. Typically portrayed as either a cat-headed woman or as a feline, Bastet held her principal cult centre at Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Revered as a mother goddess, Bastet served as a benevolent counterpart to the more aggressive lion deity, Sekhmet. Likely originating from a temple, this bronze figure would have been dedicated by the donor seeking to establish communication with the gods.
Provenance
Sotheby’s, London, UK, Antiquities, Primitive Art, Islamic, Indian, Tibetan, Nepalese and South-East Asian Art, 3rd-4th July 1978, lot 158
Sotheby’s, London, UK, Antiquities, 10th December 1996, lot 54
Charles Ede Ltd, London, UK; acquired from the above
Margaret Janet Bourne, Surrey, UK; acquired 1996
Literature
Compare Mogens Jørgensen, Catalogue Egypt V: Egyptian Bronzes, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (Copenhagen, 2009), p.211, fig.72.3Publications
Sotheby's, London, UK, Antiquities, Primitive Art, Islamic, Indian, Tibetan, Nepalese and South-East Asian Art, 3rd-4th July 1978, lot 158Sotheby's, London, UK, Antiquities, 10th December 1996, lot 54
