Cat Coffin with Mummy
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
MEDIUM
Wood, gesso, animal remains
DATES
664–332 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Late Period
DIMENSIONS
9 7/16 x 2 3/4 x 4 1/2 in. (24 x 7 x 11.5 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
37.1939E
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
The coffin container is fashioned as a funerary sculpture of a seated cat. The cat is seated upright, its tail end is on the floor and its two front paws, joined at the base, extend forward away from the body. The sculpture rests on two bases: the conjoined front paws and the base of the lower body. There is no protruding tail on its own.
The body and the head are molded closely, with the curves of the body replicated in the curved surfaces of the rounded thighs, sleek abdomen, and the bone structures in the neck and face. The spaces for the eyes are slightly concave. The contours of the nose are visible. The ears are erect. Each ear is curved on the outer edge in the shape of a center-facing crescent.
There is a lateral, mostly unilinear crack which begins in the sternum region of the chest extending upwards between the eyes and over the top of the head. The crack is wider towards the head.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Cat Coffin with Mummy, 664–332 B.C.E. Wood, gesso, animal remains, 9 7/16 x 2 3/4 x 4 1/2 in. (24 x 7 x 11.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1939E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.1939E_front_PS22.jpg)
IMAGE
front, 37.1939E_front_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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