Ancient Egyptian Humour: When #Cats Went Viral, 3,000 Years Before the Internet!
Ever seen an ancient meme? This limestone sketch (Musée du Louvre Museum. E 32954) from Deir el-Medina might just be one!
Musée du Louvre. E 32954
Drawn over 3,000 years ago (c. 1295–1069 B.C.) by an artisan of the royal tomb-builders’ village depicts a cat standing upright, holding or offering a vase and a lotus flower to another seated cat, who inhales the blossom’s fragrance; a goat may also appear in the scene. The accompanying hieratic text, written in three lines, perhaps comments on or captions the humorous tableau.
Such ostraca, reveal the wit and creativity of the Theban craftsmen. The scene is part of a comic “animal fable,” a kind of visual joke where animals mimic human behaviour. These witty sketches, were the ancient equivalent of doodles, satire; or perhaps even a bit of workplace humour.
Egyptian artists loved turning the world upside-down; mice serving cats, animals attending banquets, or cats playing the masters instead of the servants. In this tiny piece of limestone, we glimpse the wit and humanity of the Theban craftsmen who built the pharaohs’ tombs… and still found time for a laugh.
Excavated at Deir el-Medina; formerly in the collection of Alexandre Varille; purchased at public sale, Drouot-Richelieu, 2007. Now on display within the Sully Wing, Room 642; The New Kingdom: The Age of the Ramessides, Case 9.
Summary:
Ostracon with a Cat Offering a Lotus Flower
(Limestone; drawn in black and red ink with hieratic inscription)
New Kingdom, 19th–20th Dynasty, Ramesside Period, c. 1295–1069 B.C.
From Deir el-Medina
Musée du Louvre. E 32954
