Goddess Bastet. Possibly 19th century or earlier.

Goddess Bastet. Possibly 19th century or earlier.
Bronze.
Measurements: 9 x 6,1 x 3 cm.

This sculpture evokes the Egyptian votive representations of the goddess Bastet in her feline form. Made in bronze, in round bulk, the animal is shown seated, leaning on its hindquarters, with the front legs erect, head facing forward, pointed ears upward and tail that surrounds the right thigh forward. It is an expectant position, at the same time watching what is going on around it. It emulates its iconic representation in Egyptian art. Bastet or Bast was the protective goddess of the home and symbol of joie de vivre, considered the deity of harmony and happiness. Equivalent to the Greek Artemis, she was represented as a domestic cat or as a cat-headed woman carrying a sistrum indicating her love of music. She was considered the personification of the warm rays of the sun, as well as the embodiment of the peaceful aspects of goddesses such as Sekhmet, who represented the evil qualities of the sun. As the eye of Atum (creator and solar god), she was associated with the moon and protected births and pregnant women. On the other hand, since the Ancient Empire she was considered mother of the pharaoh, whom she helped and protected to reach heaven. Her cult had one of its most important centers in the city of Bubastis, where hundreds of mummified cats in her honor come from.

This piece comes from the collection of Georges Savès (1908-1985), a French numismatist and collector with a deep vocation for archaeological study. Heir to a family tradition of collecting, he devoted himself fully to historical and numismatic research since the 1950s, especially on Toulouse and Gallic coins. Throughout his life, he assembled an eclectic collection of archaeological, ethnographic and artistic pieces, enriched in 1966 with the acquisition of part of the Roger Bédiat collection. Author of specialized studies, his legacy remains a reference in the academic and patrimonial field.