Lot 3
Egypt, Ptolemaic to Romano-Egyptian Period, ca. 3rd century BCE to 2nd century BCE. A mold-formed terracotta figurine of a stylized cat seated on thick haunches with slender forelegs extended beneath the chest. Lining the front of the body are rows of crescent-shaped notches representing tufts of hair, and around the neck is a collar from which a lunate pendant is suspended. This effigy perhaps represents a domesticated cat, likely someone's pet, especially considering the detail to the face and eyes. Areas of white plaster were also perhaps painted with vibrant pigments to add to the sophisticated presentation. Size: 4.75" L x 2.4" W x 5.75" H (12.1 cm x 6.1 cm x 14.6 cm); 6.3" H (16 cm) on included custom stand.
The ancient Egyptians, rather uniquely among the world's civilizations, had an obsession with cats, both tame and fierce, large and small. Cats were domesticated to help protect crops from pests in Cyprus or possibly Mesopotamia (it is difficult to interpret the archaeological record on this matter for a variety of reasons), but the Egyptian love of cats seems to have gone above and beyond that of their contemporaries. The cemetery at Hierakonpolis includes a cat skeleton in a pre-Dynastic tomb (ca. 3700 BCE) that had a broken left humerus and right femur that seem to have been set by a human and allowed to heal before that cat's ultimate death. The first illustration of a cat with a collar comes from a 5th Dynasty (ca. 2500 to 2350 BCE) Egyptian tomb at Saqqara.
Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 2004 to 2023, reference number EL03.007.2004.
Cf. a similar example excavated at Mit-Rahineh near Memphis at the Penn Museum.
Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA; Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 2004 to 2023, reference number EL03.007.2004.
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#178986
- Condition: Small perforation between feet beneath body, with chips to head and body, scattered remains of white plaster, softening to some finer details, and light earthen deposits, otherwise intact and excellent. Great preservation of feline form. Old red numbers on back are very faint and may be old.
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