Egyptian Faience Amulet Collection

Pale yellow, turquoise, and blue faience seated cat figures, each shown on a base plinth and with a suspension loop behind the head. 83 grams total, 47-52 mm including stands



Collection of a Lady, circa 1940. From a specialist collection.

In ancient Egypt, the cat was revered as the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet, whose main cult centre was Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Although cats were once part of folk customs, their formal worship expanded across Egypt during the Late Period. Bastet was closely connected to lion-headed goddesses such as Sekhmet, Tefnut, and Pakhet, and the cat itself became linked to solar imagery: the Book of the Dead depicts the sun god as a Great Cat defeating Apophis beneath the sacred Ished Tree. The cat could also represent the Eye of the Sun or, more commonly in Bastet’s case, the Eye of the Moon. Mummified cats were often offered as votive offerings, and some were decorated with finely crafted bronze heads to emphasise their divine likeness.

Restrung group of tubular and fusiform faience beads with D-shaped pendant and two tiers of dangles beneath. 48 grams, 80 cm long



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.

Characteristic mummiform figure wearing a tripartite wig and a false beard, with a seed-bag suspended over the shoulder, a plain dorsal column, and with arms crossed and hands holding agricultural tools. 72 grams, 12.5 cm



From the collection of a late Tavistock, Devon, UK, gentleman, formed from the 1990s. Accompanied by an old handwritten date note on British Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities headed paper, where the second part relates to this item.