Cat Reliquary

This statuette of a seated cat is a hollow cast from bronze. The tail of the cat curls around the proper right side of the body. The cat has a sweet face with large eyes. Both ears are pierced for earrings, most likely of gold, which are now missing. The ornaments worn by the cat, including a three row beaded collar, an wadjet eye amulet suspended on a cord and a scarab beetle on the top of its' head are all incised into the surface. Conservation work to counter-act inroads of spontaneous corrosion (also known commonly as "bronze disease"), uncovered the remains of a fetal cat within the sandy matrix inside the hollow of the body of the cat. (Fink and Kopp, fig. 2) Both the fill and the bones were determined to be ancient. The matrix was composed of sand and an alkali, probably natron, which may have been used to embalm the cat. These elements cemented to create a hard, faience-like material. Electrolytic preservation stabilized the chloridic surface, removing the green patina that had built up (see Fink and Kopp for technical details). The cavity opening is located beneath the back quarters of the cat. The cat does not have an original base, but rectangular tangs may be noted beneath the front feet and the base of the tail. After conservation the body was treated with wax and the opening was refilled with a sand-wax mixture in order to keep the weakened bronze body from collapsing upon itself. An ancient dent at the lower back was filled and tinted to match the body (Fink and Kopp, p. 114).

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Lucy Wortham James; Dr. and Mrs. Lewellys F. Barker, 1942