Cat Coffin
Unknown Artist
305–30 BCE
Medium
bronze, hollow cast
Dimensions
51 × 14.1 × 24 cm
Classification
Funerary Equipment
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Accession Number
1917.998
About this artwork
Although the cat is considered the most Egyptian of animals, as an object of worship the cat does not appear until late in Egyptian history. This unusually large statue of a cat was made to hold the mummified remains of a sacred cat. The coffin is, of course, hollow, with an open bottom. As usual, the animal’s tail is curled around its right side.