Egyptian cat statue - Bast / Bastet - Goddess of music, joy, dance & protector of the home

Bast

Dimensions :-

Total height - 7.5 cm / 3 inches

Base length - 6.5 cm / 2-1/2 inches



On offer here in an exclusive format, a very fine, well proportioned seated statue of the goddess Bast also known as Bastet.

Made of a limestone and quartzite composition stone it has a well developed aged green patina and is mounted on a felt lined stand.

Background information

This small statue has a lot going for it in terms of detail and proportion. The muscles are well defined and the tail curls around in typical fashion to connect with the front right paw.


Mythology- Certainly a very popular figure in ancient Egypt from the earliest times when the domestic cat proved a worthy advantage to have protect the hard won food stuffs of the ancient pantry or temple storehouse. By dynasty number 2 she was already known and revered before a single pyramid was built. In the pantheon of Egyptian divinity she was both wife and a daughter of Ra the sun god. She had a son named Maahes who had the body of a man and the head of a lion wearing an atef crown. (See listing -'miniature Osiris wearing Atef crown') If available.

Late in Egyptian history during the 22nd dynasty, Bast was elevated to supreme state god by the Pharaoh Sheshonq the1st and her sacred town of Bubastis in the delta region of the Nile became capital. Her temples across the land were enriched including Thebes which was the home of Amun. All gods co-existed but from time to time a change would shake the status quo into a new direction. Usually politically motivated.

The attributes of Bast are in many ways similar to Hathor with music, dance and all manner of lighthearted activity associated with her. She even shakes a Hathor Sistrum when depicted as a womanly figure with a feline head. She could of course be shown as just a cat without the human features. The ancient public would commission people like myself to make for them a statue or at least a votive head, to place in a temple as an offering to the goddess.