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Details
LOT 0013
Large Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat
LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.
8 1/2 in. (629 grams total, 21.5 cm high including stand).
Modelled sleek and muscular in the round, the ears and eyes alert creating a dignified expression; piercings through the ears; hollow-formed; mounted on a custom-made display base.
Provenance
Acquired from a French dealer, 1965.
Swiss private collection.
UK private collection, 1993.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11838-206398.
Literature
Cf. The British Museum, museum numbers EA25565 and EA64391 for comparable examples; cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession numbers 86.1.80 and 56.16.1, for similar.
Footnotes
Possibly intended as a container for the mummified remains of a cat, or from a statuette of the goddess Bastet. The feline's pierced ears likely once held earrings or other ornaments. In ancient Egypt, cats were the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet; such objects were often given as donations at her temples.
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