Bastet

Statue of a cat

Statue of a cat

This bronze statue of a cat is a remarkable example of ancient Egyptian art. The statue, which is likely from the Late Period of Egypt (664-332 BC), depicts a cat in a seated position. The statue is often associated with the goddess Bastet, the goddess of home, fertility, and protector of the childbirth, often depicted...

Gold Vase Dedicated to the Goddess Bastet

Gold Vase Dedicated to the Goddess Bastet

A gold vase that was found with other objects at Bubastis in the Nile Delta, among the votive offering in the temple dedicated to the cat goddess, Bastet. The topmost decorative band is a frieze of lanceolate leaves that point downwards; the middle band has a motif of large drops, and the bottom band is...

Middle Kingdom Cat

Middle Kingdom Cat

This is a vessel in the shape of a cat that dates from early in the 12th Dynasty of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, 1990–1900 B.C. Made from Egyptian alabaster, the cat is sculpted beautifully and inlaid eyes of rock-crystal, lined with copper bring an eerie sense of realism to this piece. Cats held a significant and...

Statuette of a Cat

Statuette of a Cat

The statuette represents the traditional image of a seated cat, with its tail placed on the ground along the right side of the body. The eyes are inlaid with gold. One of the rock crystal pupils that once decorated the eyes has been lost. The skillful technique and delicate elaboration of the body contours and...

Bastet, The Gayer-Anderson Cat

Bastet, Gayer-Anderson Cat

The Gayer-Anderson cat is a bronze figure depicting one form of the goddess Bastet. The goddess was usually shown as a cat-headed woman, or in the form of a cat. Her principal cult center was Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Bastet was a mother goddess and benign counterpart to the more aggressive lion goddess Sekhmet. The...

Head of a Cat with Amber Eyes

Bronze head of a cat represents goddess Bastet or Bast with inlaid amber eyes and a golden scarab on its forehead, it was part of a cat-shaped sarcophagus for a cat mummy, as a sacrifice to the goddess Bastet. The little feline lived in the houses, that’s why it was associated to the goddess Bastet,...