Egyptian cat head of the goddess Bastet

The details are meticulously incised and delicate, the forms supple, and the surface smooth. The cat’s ears are
pierced. The original gold earrings have been lost.
The cult of Bastet, protective goddess of the home associated with prosperity and fertility, developed beginning
in the tenth century BC, simultaneously with the establishment of the primary residence of the kings of the
22nd Dynasty in Bubastis (the home of Bastet). Small statuettes of this sort served as offerings or were placed
alongside mummies and sarcophagi of cats, which were considered at the time to be sacred animals.

Formerly in the collection of Dr Hans Wendland, Lugano, Switzerland Formerly in a German private collection