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Representations of cats are well-known in Ancient Egypt from the 2nd millennium BCE. The onomatopoetic Egyptian name was "miu" (mjw) for the male, and "mit" (mjjt) for the female cat. Egypt's economic base was agriculture and therefore rodent- and snake-hunting felines were very much appreciated. In terms of religious beliefs the male cat was connected to the sun-god, and the female cat to Bastet. Particularly in the Late and Greco-Roman Periods representations of the goddess as well as cats and cats with kittens became very popular to symbolize fertility and renewal. This amulet displays a seated female cat with a kitten in front of her. This kitten is facing the right and has the same posture as its mother. The amulet has a rectangular base and a loop on the back of the cat.
Page data
- Page
- 5
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 5013ab615fc835ea
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 6840
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
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"description": "Representations of cats are well-known in Ancient Egypt from the 2nd millennium BCE. The onomatopoetic Egyptian name was \"miu\" (mjw) for the male, and \"mit\" (mjjt) for the female cat. Egypt's economic base was agriculture and therefore rodent- and snake-hunting felines were very much appreciated. In terms of religious beliefs the male cat was connected to the sun-god, and the female cat to Bastet. Particularly in the Late and Greco-Roman Periods representations of the goddess as well as cats and cats with kittens became very popular to symbolize fertility and renewal. This amulet displays a seated female cat with a kitten in front of her. This kitten is facing the right and has the same posture as its mother. The amulet has a rectangular base and a loop on the back of the cat.",
"provenance": "Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
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Document identity
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Document source metadata
{
"id": "6840",
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"contentType": "object",
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"title": "Cat with Kittens",
"description": "Representations of cats are well-known in Ancient Egypt from the 2nd millennium BCE. The onomatopoetic Egyptian name was \"miu\" (mjw) for the male, and \"mit\" (mjjt) for the female cat. Egypt's economic base was agriculture and therefore rodent- and snake-hunting felines were very much appreciated. In terms of religious beliefs the male cat was connected to the sun-god, and the female cat to Bastet. Particularly in the Late and Greco-Roman Periods representations of the goddess as well as cats and cats with kittens became very popular to symbolize fertility and renewal. This amulet displays a seated female cat with a kitten in front of her. This kitten is facing the right and has the same posture as its mother. The amulet has a rectangular base and a loop on the back of the cat.",
"provenance": "Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
"date": "4th century BCE (Late Period-early Ptolemaic)",
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Document source extras
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Page context
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