Bronze Head of Bastet

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Late Period, 664-332 B.C.

Material: Bronze

Dimensions: 3.3 cm x 3.5 cm

Price: Sold

Ref: 1091

Provenance: French private collection, acquired in a Parisian auction house. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Condition: Cracks in the inlays of the eyes, otherwise intact.

Description: Hollow-cast bronze head of the goddess Bastet, who was worshipped as a cat in later periods. The exceedingly fine and naturalistic representation with a muscular neck and strong snout reflects how important the cult for the tutelary deity was, especially in the late period. The vigilantly raised ears are pierced and were once wearing golden earrings. Between the ears a scarab. The eyes are fashioned from another material and still have inlays (possibly glass). The head was once placed on a body of a different material, most probably wood as there are remainings in the interior. Such votive offerings, larger ones involved entire cat mummies, were particularly found in Bubastis, the cult centre of Bastet in the southern part of the east Nile Delta. Mounted.