Egypt Exploration Society

Further Notes on Some Egyptian Figures of CatsAuthor(s): N. LangtonReviewed work(s):Source: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jun., 1938), pp. 54-58Published by: Egypt Exploration SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3854677 .Accessed: 21/03/2012 19:35

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FURTHER NOTES ON SOME EGYPTIAN FIGURES OF CATS

BY N. LANGTON

With Plates iii, iv

THE cat has been associated by Egyptologists so exclusively and for so long with the goddess Bastet that it is disturbing to find in our collection figures and groups which show that it was associated with other deities, including Osiris, Nefertem, Bes and other dwarf-gods. Many of these are however difficult to identify, and the rarity of the pieces, and the wide range they cover, make the task the harder. Yet identification is most desirable in view of the possibility of a common origin. This article attempts little more than the presentation of material from our collection, which emphasizes very clearly the widespread importance of the cat in Egyptian life and religion; indeed a doubt seems permissible whether such range can be credited to any one divinity, and still less to a minor deity such as Bastet.

Our present material divides itself roughly into three classes:

A, in which a small cat is seated at the foot of a deity. B, in which a cat forms part of a group containing a deity. C, in which some cat feature is grafted on to another form of deity.

This classification by outward form is adopted for the sake of simplicity, as grouping by abstract ideas-life, death, pleasure, maternity, and the like-is too speculative at this early stage.

Before discussing the material it may be helpful to consider what other cat influences might be potent enough to rival or supplant Bastet herself as the origin of these figures. They are very few. Re<, named in the Book of the Dead (Spell 17) as 'the Male Cat'; 'the cat of lapis lazuli', and 'the Great Cat' mentioned by Professor Blackman in his article on the Papyrus of Nespehercan (JEA 5, 25); 'the cat in the House of Hapt-Re< (Bk. Dead, Sp. 125); 'the cat within the house of Met' (Metternich Stela, 11. 78-9), and the cat-headed mummiform figure on the cat's sarcophagus at Cairo (cf. ZAS 44, 97), seem to complete a list of which most of the names are mere shadows, perhaps with a common origin. Only REe emerges as powerful and catholic enough for real importance; but even so a few refer- ences in the literature. (e.g., Budge, Gods of the Egyptians, I, 272, 345; II, 297), and a few vignettes in papyri as the slayer of Apop, can do little more than stir the imagination.

CLASS A (NOS. 1-6) A small cat seated at the foot of a deity

1. Cat-headed, human-bodied Bastet standing, wearing long patterned robe and carrying the sistrum, aegis, and basket. In front of her right foot is a small seated cat, facing the spectator, P1. iii, 1. Bronze. H. 6-2 cm. Saite.

Although badly corroded, this figure is too rare and important to be omitted. Nothing material is affected. The figure is undoubtedly Bastet, but the secondary figure, the cat, is less easy to identify or explain. We know that Bastet was invoked in cat form (JEA 22,

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FURTHER NOTES ON SOME EGYPTIAN FIGURES OF CATS 55

116, 2, A), and that, as cat, she received priestly worship (cf. P1. iii, 2),1 but there is nothing to help us in this case to a choice among an incarnation, a ka-figure, a 'familiar', a temple cat, and some power quite distinct from Bastet; nor does the subordinate position of the cat help us. If it is an incarnation, duplication of divinity is involved. This seems to be exceed- ingly improbable unless perhaps the object was to show the goddess in her earlier form as cat, and in her later one as semi-human, when the Egyptians had come to see a blend of animal and human as a higher or more attractive conception of divinity. The fine bronze group in the British Museum (No. 12590), showing the semi-human-Bastet with four kittens at foot, might be regarded as on a similar footing to our group; but that, I think, shows Bastet as a maternity deity, whereas our single cat is evidently one of a series connected with certain deities with whom, as will appear, a maternity motive seems out of place. That the cat here

represents the ka of the goddess seems improbable in view of the physical differences, and there is no evidence to support the idea of a 'familiar'. A temple cat is another suggested identification, but, though such must have been a complement to cat-worship, and probably like the Apis bulls was used for oracular purposes, it is most unlikely that one would be shown at the feet of any deity save Bastet herself; nor, with her present, would one seem to be needed.

2. Leonine-headed goddess advancing; arms pendent, hands empty; wig and ruff; uraeus on head; in front of right foot a small seated cat, facing spectator. Behind is a ring for suspension. P1. iii, 3. Faience, blue glaze. H. 4*8 cm. Saite or earlier.

3. Similar to No. 2, but the uraeus is lost and the goddess carries an aegis. P1. iii, 4. Faience, blue glaze. H. 4.9 cm. Saite or earlier.

Until the leonine-headed deities have been identified with precision it may seem precipi- tate to claim these two figures as Bastet. Both, however, wear the uraeus (the fracture on No. 3 shows that one was present) and, since out of thirty-three uraeus-crowned, leonine- headed figurines with inscriptions which I have noted, no fewer than thirty bear the name of Bastet, there seems no reason to doubt this identification. Moreover, the goddess in No. 3 carries the aegis, which is peculiar to Bastet, so that the two figures supplement one another as evidence for the attribution.

The reason for the distinction between the leonine and cat-headed forms of Bastet is unknown, and it is curious that in faience, for wear as a personal amulet, the former was as common as the latter was rare. Perhaps the form of worship and the regalia worn differed according to locality or special festival. The problem of the cat's presence seems as far from solution as in the case of No. 1. It is very unfortunate that no inscribed group of this kind seems to be known.

4. Nefertem advancing, wearing lotus head-dress and kilt, and carrying a falchion in his right hand. Before his right foot is a seated cat, facing the spectator. Behind is a ring for suspension. P1. iii, 5. Bronze. H. 6*7 cm. Saite.

Nefertem, the son of Bastet or, as some texts say, of Sakhmet-Bastet, links the cat with a male deity though one within the Bastet circle. He belongs by parentage and association to the solar gods, and if he can be regarded as a form of REe, the cat may connect with the latter rather than with Bastet. He is also associated with Osiris (cf. No. 5).

5. Osiris standing, holding crook and flagellum; in front on right side a seated cat facing spectator. Behind is a ring for suspension. P1. iii, 6. Bronze. H. 7-5 cm. Ptolemaic.

Also from our collection. Bronze; H. 7 cm.; Bubastite (?).

N. LANGTON

Out of many hundreds of similar figures this is the only one I know of with the cat so placed. It brings the cat or the power it represents into close touch with the world of the dead. A similar conception seems to underlie a bronze group at Cairo, in which Osiris is enthroned between Nefertem and Harpocrates, with a seated cat at his side and a kneeling worshipper in front, and also in the curious amuletic group No. 9. In addition to these, Professor Blackman (JEA 5, 26) mentions that the cat is connected somehow or other with the ceremonies of mummification, and records the occurrence of a cat-headed mummi- form divinity.

6. Fragment of a group showing the feet of a goddess trampling on two prone captives; behind her left foot a seated cat looks over its shoulder as it turns its back on the scene. Faience, blue glaze. H. 3-7 cm. Bubastite.

This curious fragment was published in JEA 22, P1. vi, 4, and p. 118, where the principal figure was identified as Bastet. It is included here as extending the series, and as an interest- ing variation of the normal type. The scene is as yet unexplained.

CLASS B (Nos. 7-11) A cat forms part of a group containing a deity

7. Bastet, with cat's head, legs and tail, standing. She wears a short patterned tunic, and carries the three usual emblems (sistrum now lost); on her right stands a small figure of Bes

playing on a lyre, and on her left a crouching cat bites the head of a bird. The group is placed on a low four-footed stool, the sides of which are inscribed with the names of Udjehor and his mother. Pl. iv, 2. Bronze. H. 11*7 cm. Saite.

This group, apparently unique, suggests a ritual scene, and shows Bastet in a rare form, her aspect perhaps at some particular place or time. Unusual features are the short skirt, the way of holding the aegis, and the cat's legs and tail. Bes is frequently associated with her but the role of lyre-player is uncommon. Bird-eating cats are known as ornamenting the

loops of sistra (Langton Coll., No. 239); they are found, too, in tomb paintings (e.g., in the tomb of Racmose at Thebes), but the latter reproduces a domestic scene with the hope of

perpetuating it, whereas our group and those on the sistra suggest religious significance, being perhaps copies of a divination scene in a temple, or of a ritual feeding of sacred cats.

8. Bes, standing, wearing a head-dress of four plumes pierced at the tops. He is nude and tailed, and plays on a long-handled lute. Knee-high, as supporters on each side, are seated cats, facing spectator. P1. iv, 1. Bronze. H. 11 cm. Saite.

This adds another example to the Bes-and-cat combinations. The association may be due to the fact that both were pleasure-giving deities and were connected with birth and

fecundity. The presence of two cats seems to rule out identification with any single divinity.

9. Leonine-headed goddess standing, wearing disk and uraeus; on each shoulder sits a cat, facing spectator, and on each side is a figure of the mummiform Osiris. Behind is a ring for suspension. PI. iv, 4. Bronze. H. 3*9 cm. Ptolemaic.

This unusual amulet, like No. 5, connects the cat with Osiris; but here both god and cats are accessories rather than principals. The dominant figure with the disk and uraeus is presumably Sakhmet (I know of no inscribed figure with this head-dress that bears the name of Bastet), but her association with the cat is a puzzle unless, in some hidden way, a link between Bastet and Sakhmet is intended. The group belongs to a late period when fusions were a fashion.

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FURTHER NOTES ON SOME EGYPTIAN FIGURES OF CATS 57

10. An ape, or priest masked as an ape, seated on a stool and placing a circular disk on the head of a cat seated between its knees. The group surmounts the capital of a papyrus- column. Faience, blue glaze. H. 8-3 cm. Bubastite.

This piece was published in JEA 22, P1. vi, 1, but is mentioned here as it introduces a new deity into the circle of the cat's associates. This deity is assumed to be Thoth, and it is curious that he and Bastet appear to be the only carriers of the sacred eye. The action sug- gests some ceremony of a solar nature. The Grenfell Collection (Lot 102) contained a group in bronze showing a seated cat faced by an ape.

11. Human-headed sphinx, with spotted cat body; seated; head turned to right; hair cropped in four heavy locks; tail on right side; between forepaws is a seated kitten, and another reclines on back. Behind is ring with square edges. PI. iv, 3. Faience, blue glaze: hair and spots in black glaze. H. 1-9 cm. Bubastite.

In early times the sphinx in leonine form represented the King, and in later ones the god Harmachis. The presence of young shows our sphinx to be feminine, and as no lion-cub groups are known, and as this one duplicates exactly some of the cat groups shown in JEA 22, PI. vii, 3, 12, 14, the combination is certainly with the cat. Probably the amulet is a

maternity one, but how it originated is not known, unless perhaps the Bubastites, who seem to have been fertile in new ideas, recast the sphinx. A small amulet (No. 11865) in the British Museum shows a sphinx guarding its kitten in true cat fashion.

CLASS C (Nos. 12-15) Some cat features grafted on to another form of deity

12. Cat-headed dwarf standing; nude, tailed and straddle-legged; wig with two heavy plaits; hands clenched and pierced for the insertion of objects (lost). Behind is ring with square edges. P1. iv, 6. Wood. H. 6.4 cm. Bubastite or earlier.

A cat-headed Bes was my first thought for this figure, but the wig is an alien element, and the position of the hands is more suggestive of captive snakes than of the knives which Bes sometimes carries. Snakes indicate Ptah-Sokar, of whom small cat-headed bead figures are known, but neither the tail nor the wig is among his peculiarities. Mr. Alan Shorter ingeni- ously suggests kinship with one of those dwarf figures who appear nude, wigged, and straddle-

legged, and with snakes, on some of the ivory wands of the Middle Kingdom (cf. PSBA 27, 130ff., 297ff.; 28, 33ff., 159ff.). These wands are judged to be horoscopic, and cats are some- times figured on them. Dwarf gods are often associated with the underworld, but the evidence is, I feel, too slight as yet for plausible identification.1

13. Cat-bodied creature with the face and breast of a falcon. P1. iv, 7. Faience, green glaze. H. 1-7 cm. Saite.

A larger piece might be more convincing, but this one does not stand alone, for a faience figure in the British Museum (ex Bethell Sale, Lot 239) shows the same combination of cat and falcon with complete clearness: the shape and poise of the head, the prominent breast and thin legs being unmistakably those of a falcon. There are a number of combinations with falcon heads which show the importance of the bird, and if, in this case, the falcon element could be regarded as REe it might show the god in a double role of falcon and male cat.

1 A very interesting link between Bastet and the dwarf world is to be seen in the Papyrus of Dirpu, a singer of Amiin (Anc. Egypt, 1914, 29). This shows the deceased being led by the cat-headed Bastet and accompanied by a bitch-headed dwarf carrying knives and a snake. Our wooden figure would make a good understudy for this strange creation.

N. LANGTON

14. Cat-headed animal seated; full breasted; on each shoulder a protuberance (ends lost). P1. iv, 5. Bronze. H. 2-7 cm. Ptolemaic.

In poise, vigour, and character this fantastic creation recalls the bronze Cerberus in the Museum of Alexandria (Guide, Fig. 34) and so suggests that the lost terminals of the protu- berances may have been subsidiary heads of a feline nature. Fantastic combinations are found as early as the Twelfth Dynasty in the Tombs of Beni Hasan (e.g., Tomb No. 3), but this vigorous little creature seems to fall into a more significant category, and suggests Greek blood. Alternatively the protuberances may be additional breasts, showing us a 'Great Mother' deity similar to the Ephesian Diana, or again we may have a new version of the sphinx according to Alexandrian fancy.

15. Cat- or lion-headed goddess seated; arms crossed on breast; in each hand a hoe. Scarab (?) on head. Pierced for suspension. P1. iv, 8. Faience, green glaze. H. 1-9 cm. New Kingdom (?).

No similar figure is known to me of this shawabti-type. It is difficult in so small a piece to decide whether a ruff is indicated or a scarab is present, but my own feeling is that there is a scarab and no ruff. If so, Bastet would be indicated, as cat-headed representations of her with scarab head-ornaments are known, and we could then see this figure as a further link with the underworld. The shape of the hoes indicates an early date.

I am afraid I must admit my inability to come to a definite conclusion about these pieces. I can find no common denominator, but, generally speaking, Bastet would seem to be the likeliest inspiration. In some of the pieces, however, it seems improbable that she is present. Is it possible that behind our puzzle are the male and female principles, and that the female, as time passed and civilization mellowed, usurped, little by little, much of the power of the male, leaving him to be recalled occasionally as a tradition of an old heroic age ? I am far from urging this, but it is perhaps worth keeping in mind until more evidence comes to hand.

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