id:			98363
accession number:	1917.998
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1917.998
updated:		2023-08-29 11:33:42.496000

Cat Coffin, 305–30 BC. Egypt, Ptolemaic Dynasty (305-30 BC). Bronze, hollow cast; overall: 51 x 14.1 x 24 cm (20 1/16 x 5 9/16 x 9 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1917.998

title:				Cat Coffin
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			305–30 BC
creation date earliest:		-305
creation date latest:		-30
current location:		107 Egyptian
creditline:			Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
copyright:			

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culture:	Egypt, Ptolemaic Dynasty (305-30 BC)
technique:	bronze, hollow cast
department:	Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
collection:	Egypt - Greco-Roman
type:		Funerary Equipment
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 51 x 14.1 x 24 cm (20 1/16 x 5 9/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Silver Jubilee Exhibition
	opening date:   1941-06-23T04:00:00
	<i>The Silver Jubilee Exhibition</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

	title:		A Cleveland Bestiary
	opening date:   1981-10-15T04:00:00
	<i>A Cleveland Bestiary</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15-December 16, 1981).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1916). no. 163, p. 225

* Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (29 August 1952 - 2 April 1953).

* Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1981b). no. 31

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PROVENANCE

	Dikran G. Kelekian, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1917
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1917-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
A necklace appears to have been incised or scratched into the finished bronze; faint traces are visible on the chest.

digital description:


wall description:
Although the cat is considered the most Egyptian of animals, as an object of worship the cat does not appear until late in Egyptian history. This unusually large statue of a cat was made to hold the mummified remains of a sacred cat. The coffin is, of course, hollow, with an open bottom. As usual, the animal’s tail is curled around its right side.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
	page number: 	Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 7
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n18

	Kathman, Barbara A. <em>A Cleveland Bestiary</em>. Cleveland, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 37; Mentioned: p. 33, p. 62
	url:		

	Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač.<em> Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999
	page number: 	Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 438
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1917.998/1917.998_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1917.998/1917.998_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1917.998/1917.998_full.tif