Cat Coffin

Late Period-Ptolemaic Period (664–32 BCE)

Egyptian

Ancient Egyptians dedicated animal coffins like this wooden example in temples, tailoring the enclosed mummified animal to one that had a specific connection with the deity whose favor was sought. The mummified animal’s soul acted as a messenger between the human and divine realms, seeking resolution to issues such as illness or crimes committed against its dedicator. The feline form of this empty coffin suggests that it was presented to Bastet, a goddess revered for her motherly qualities who often assumed the form of a cat or cat-headed woman.

Status: On View, Gallery 137
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Ancient Egyptian
Title: Cat Coffin
Place: Egypt (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 664 BCE–32 BCE
Medium: Wood and plaster
Dimensions: 63.5 × 22.3 × 52 cm (25 × 8 3/4 × 20 7/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
Reference Number: 1922.4800
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/5522/manifest.json

The Art Institute of Chicago, “Accessions and Loans,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago vol. 17, no. 1 (January 1923), p. 11.
Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), pp. 59, 60 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, A Brief Illustrated Guide to the Collections (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1935), p. 9.
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 29.

Emily Crane Chadbourne (1871-1964), Paris, London, and Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.

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