CLOSE MENU

Coffin for a cat containing a mummy

A wooden hollow coffin in the shape of a seated cat, made in two halves, and placed on a base. Each half is carved from a single piece of wood. The wood has been plastered and covered with textile, then plastered again and painted in black. The tail, made separately and affixed to the base, curves to the right. The hind paws are affixed to the base and are not part of the main cat statue. The base is made of reused wood. These might be repairs or might have held something else. The coffin contains a wrapped package only visible from the hole below the cat statue. The CT scans show that the wrapped package contains the incomplete skeleton of an adult cat (Felis silvestris lybica). It was originally placed with the forelegs extended, and the hindlegs contracted towards the body, but the left(?) forelimb is now disarticulated. The animal was eviscerated.

Cat. 2359/?
Wood+stucco, Organic animal+plant fiber / Linen
16.3 cm x 55.8 cm x 32.6 cm
Unknow date
Unknown
Purchase Bernardino Drovetti, 1824
Museum / Floor 1 / Room 11 RET / Cabinet 48 SA / Shelf 03
  • Ikram, Salima-Aicardi, Sara-Facchetti, Federica, The animal mummies of the Museo Egizio, Turin (Studi del Museo egizio 5), Torino, Museo egizio, Modena 2024, P.182–183, P.182.
    Tipo=Monografia SottoTipo= Autore=Ikram, Salima-Aicardi, Sara-Facchetti, Federica Titolo=The animal mummies of the Museo Egizio, Turin Sottotiolo= In= Collana=Studi del Museo egizio Opera=5 Luogo=Torino, Museo egizio, Modena Anno=2024 Menzionato=P.182-183 Illustrazione=P.182
Museo Egizio