Ancient Egyptian Large Bronze Bastet Cat Statuette - Late Period/Ptolemaic Period, c. 500-300 BC

An exceptional bronze statuette depicting a seated cat, dating to the Late Period/Ptolemaic Period of ancient Egypt, c. 500-300 BC. 

The composed posture and alert, upright ears capture the characteristic poise of the animal, which held particular religious significance in ancient Egypt through its association with the Goddess Bastet. In zoomorphic form, she was represented as a cat and cats were considered sacred to her.

The figure retains two projecting tangs beneath the body, designed to secure it to a base or box. This detail offers an interesting insight into the original use and presentation of the specimen.

The cat is presented on a hand-crafted modern block mount, complete with pre-drilled holes designed to accommodate the ancient tangs, allowing the figure to stand perfectly upright as it would have in ancient times. The bronze remains completely removable from the mount for close tactile inspection, requiring no adhesives or structural alterations.

Copper-alloy representations of cats such as this were produced in ancient Egypt in connection with the worship of Bastet. They would have been dedicated as offerings to temples or deposited in catacombs alongside cat mummies, such as at the extensive catacombs at Bubastis and Saqqara. Larger hollow examples were also sometimes used to contain cat mummies. 

Two particularly notable comparable examples of similar size and form are held within The British Museum, part of a cache of mixed bronzes discovered by W.M. Flinders Petrie during his 1880s excavations at Naukratis, Egypt. (See ‘Comparable specimens’ below)

Specimen Details:

Origin: Egypt, North Africa 

Period: Late Period/Ptolemaic Period, c. 500-300 BC

Composition: Bronze (copper alloy)

Dimensions: Overall 105mm incl. base; Cat: 63mm height x 38mm width 

Condition: Excellent condition, no restoration or repairs. Both ears intact. Encrustations and minor surface wear in line with age.

Provenance: Ex English private collection of Mr M.C, 1960s - 2026, acquired during the early 1960s from a London house clearance. 
Reportedly collected from Egypt during the late 19th century. 

Comparable specimens (reference) 

Accession number: 9,9,86,113 - The British Museum

Literature: The typology of animal bronzes by K. Weiss (Weiss 2012, 783-791, Pl. 49, Typ T 32, see especially Nr. 1007.