Amulet of a cat
Rare 18th Dynasty amulet in the form of a crouching cat, carved from steatite and glazed in green-blue, with the name of the god Amun-Re incised crudely in hieroglyphs on the underside. The piece was found among the votive offerings to the goddess Hathor at Deir el-Bahari, her principal sanctuary in Thebes. Although the cat first becomes a common motif of Egyptian art only centuries later (after about 900 BC), it already figures in New Kingdom depictions of the sun-god Re and in association with Hathor, goddess of beauty, on cosmetic objects.
DEIR EL-BAHARI
NEW KINGDOM: 18TH DYNASTY
From the division of finds excavated at Deir el-Bahari by Dr. Naville in 1903-1904. Given to the museum by the Egypt Exploration Fund.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND
Inventory number 1904:530
