Creative Commons License
Mummified Cat
Priests oversaw the rituals, mummifications, funerals, and burials of sacred temple animals. By the mid-1st millennium BC, people were encouraged to pay for the mummification as a sacred offering to the related deity. A cat mummy would be offered to a feline deity, such as Bastet. This was a lucrative business, and "false" mummies were sometimes created to meet the demand. Actually, this is one of those: X-rays show that there is nothing inside the wrappings.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Mrs. Frances Eaton Weld [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Heirs of Mrs. Frances Eaton Weld; Walters Art Museum, 1947, by gift.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 3/22/1984 | Examination | examined for loan |
Geographies
Egypt (Place of Origin)
Measurements
7 5/8 in. (19.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the heirs of Mrs. Frances Eaton Weld, 1947
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
79.3