Late Period to Ptolemaic Period, circa 664–30 BCE.
A fine cast in a cupreous alloy, representing the goddess Bastet, the head is modeled naturalistically with upright pierced ears, rounded muzzle, and lightly indicated whisker pads, the eyes left plain without inlay; the neck terminates in a roughly broken tubular section indicating ancient separation from a larger element.
The surface shows a dark green to black patina with scattered areas of cuprite and burial accretions, minor edge losses around the break, and small casting flaws consistent with Late Period bronze production.
Size: 1-3/4 inches (94.8cm); 3-7/8 inches (9.4cm) mounted on a modern wooden custom fitted socle.
The feline head is best understood as an image of Bastet, whose cult in the first millennium BCE favored fully feline representations, in contrast to earlier leonine forms.
Comparable bronze cats and cat heads from Bubastis, Saqqara, and various museum collections are generally dated to the Late and Ptolemaic Periods on the basis of style and archaeological context, providing a close parallel for this example.
Bronze cats constituted one of the most common categories of zoomorphic dedications to Bastet in the Late and Ptolemaic periods, deposited in temples and catacombs, particularly at Bubastis and Saqqara.
The broken tubular extension at the base of this head suggests that it was originally attached to a composite object—perhaps the wooden lid or end of a cat-shaped coffin for a votive cat mummy, or the upper part of a larger bronze or wooden figure or standard.
Published studies of Bastet bronzes note a heterogeneous group that includes freestanding statuettes, coffin fittings, and zoomorphic heads comparable in scale and casting technique to the present specimen, all fulfilling the function of materialized prayers and offerings to the goddess
Provenance: Ex. Dr. Hans Halter, Switzerland, collected before 1966.
