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Coffin for a cat containing a mummy

The hollow coffin is carved in the shape of a seated cat on a rectangular base with a curved back. It is made from five pieces of wood. The wood is covered with plaster, and the face is painted in yellow. Eyebrows consisting of double lines are painted over the eyes, and the eyes themselves are rendered in black, with a triangular pupil and yellow iris. The mouth is picked out in red paint, and the interior of the ears has red lines. The base has a recess to accommodate the body of the cat. The base is plain, except for the front and right proper side, where there is an inscription in black ink, going from right to left. The coffin contains a package wrapped in linen that is visible only from the hole at the bottom of the cat statue. The bandages of the mummy appear darkly colored, probably due to the embalming agents. In addition to the wrapping, undyed fabric is used as filling materials. The CT scans show that the wrapped package contains the complete skeleton of a kitten. The cat was positioned as usual with the forelegs extended along the body and the hind legs contracted towards the body and the tail against the belly. It was eviscerated. The cat is oriented in the same way as the coffin, but occupies only half of the inner space, the other part being filled by rolled bandages.

Cat. 2362
Wood
14.8 cm x 71.8 cm x 27.4 cm
980–810 BCE
Late Period
Unknown
Purchase Bernardino Drovetti, 1824
Museum / Floor 1 / Room 11 RET / Armadio 48 SA / Ripiano 03
Museo Egizio