Woman holding a Cat

The wooden figure depicts a naked woman holding what is identified as a cat to her chest, though the animal’s form is somewhat indistinct.

Though undated in the museum’s entry, the figure was acquired by the early 19th-century Scottish traveller and collector Robert Hay of Linplum, who amassed a substantial number of antiquities during his residence in Egypt, particularly from the Theban region. Many of Hay’s acquisitions derive from tomb contexts and are dated between the New Kingdom and the Late Period, and his collection includes several wooden statuettes stylistically akin to this one (British Museum. EA 32733. On the basis of this provenance and in comparison with other similar objects, there is a strong case to be made for a New Kingdom attribution, particularly the later 18th or 19th Dynasties.

The figure’s graceful contours, naturalistic proportions, and quiet tenderness evoke the artistic sensibilities of the late New Kingdom (c. 1550–1069 B.C.), a period in which the human form was rendered with increasing softness and expressive nuance. The pose, with the woman cradling a cat (a creature sacred to Bastet) suggests a moment of domestic affection or private devotion, resonant with the more intimate imagery that flourished during the New Kingdom. It is also during this era that Bastet’s cult began to grow in prominence, particularly from the reign of Thutmose III onwards.

While the stylised abstraction of some features might support a later dating, it is equally plausible that this is a transitional piece, created toward the close of the New Kingdom and reflecting early stylistic tendencies that would come to define the Third Intermediate Period.

In truth, without a known archaeological context, firm attribution is elusive, and stylistic dating must be approached with a degree of caution. Nevertheless, the figure’s emotive charm and poised simplicity speak to the enduring Ancient Egyptian reverence for cats and the feminine form, whether as divine votive, protective amulet, or intimate household icon.

Summary:

Wooden Figure of a Woman Holding a Cat

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty – 19th Dynasty, c. 1350–1250 B.C.

Probably from Thebes

British Museum. EA 32733