Egyptian Cat Statue - Bastet Goddess
Why should you get an Egyptian cat statue?
Looking for a decoration of your favorite animal, a great symbol of ancient Egypt? Discover our collection of sculptures of the goddess Bastet, patron saint of cats and protector of houses…
Ready to let ancient Egypt come to your home?
An Egyptian cat statue for a unique antique home decoration
An Egyptian cat statue will bring a beautiful and mystical decorative touch to your home.
All around the world, these statues have always stimulated the imagination of those who looked at them. Every day you can offer yourself and your guests a trip back in time and a magical atmosphere straight out of antiquity.
But it’s not only a decor, aesthetics, and beauty affair. It is also a historical and cultural object.
In the culture of ancient Egypt, cats were sacred as gods and mummified as men. They were considered protective animals because they took care of the vermin and protected the crops. It was also said that they brought luck and blessing. Ancient Egyptian priests stored this type of statue in temples to ward off evil spirits.
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By placing this statue in any room of your home, you will be honoring the legacy of Egyptian wisdom and a rich ancient tradition that is still known today. Even today, don't humans worship cats? As in many civilizations, the Egyptians have worshipped this animal, which is now domestic and cuddly.
If you are passionate about history, art, and ancient Egypt in its entirety and its magnificent symbolism, you will love our collection on this theme imbued with mythology, gods, goddesses, and especially the great symbol of this powerful civilization.
A quality feline collection to decorate your home
Our skilled artisans have crafted our Bastet statues with the greatest possible attention to detail and realism. Our goal is to capture the beauty of felinity and the natural elegance of cats in their various poses.
We take pride in the quality of the materials used. We take care of the authenticity of a style worthy of the knowledge and the sense of detail of the ancient Egyptians, to offer you a durable and resistant statue that you can easily handle.
We offer a diverse and varied selection that will suit your tastes.
In a vintage spirit, you could appreciate the golden Egyptian cat statue or the simple but beautiful black Egyptian cat statue.
In another style, we also have a Duo cat statue or the Egyptian cat statue laying down. Through our collection of cat sculptures, we hope you will find happiness in bringing the final touch to your interior decoration.
The meaning of the Egyptian cat statue
Beyond the mythology that surrounds cat statues. Having an Egyptian cat statue brings a vintage but original touch to your interior decoration. Moreover, the sculptures of felines also keep a strong symbolism.
Indeed, they inspire great freedom and autonomy, as well as a great capacity to be stealthy, noble, and agile of mind and body. Therefore, having a cat statue in your home will bring you great satisfaction in your daily life.
The Cat Cult in Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptians named the cat by the onomatopoeia "miou", whose transcription is "miw" in the masculine and "miwt" in the feminine (the French pronunciation also use this kind of onomatopoeia, which is found in the verb meow).
The cat was one of the many sacred animals whose attributes were venerated in ancient Egypt, just like the gods. It inspired joy in the home but also served as a symbol of the protection of children and pregnant women.
First of all, as the avatar of the god Ra and fighter of the snake Apophis, he will know the top of his influence as the incarnation of the goddess Bastet.
His export was punished very severely as it was not allowed to leave the Egyptian land in any way. Any person who did not respect the law risked the death penalty.
Felines: True protectors of cultures
It is believed that the domestication of the cat took place in Egypt during the fourth millennium BC. Before becoming a pet appreciated for its gentleness, grace, and nonchalance, the cat is above all a protective animal.
A bit of history: We are in the current of antiquity and the Egyptians cultivated the fertile lands near the Nile. In particular wheat but also various kinds of cereal. This food and provisions were then stored.
However, and as you may have guessed, storage also meant rodents that came to feast on the crops. However, this is where our friends the cats came in.
As a small predator that hunts rodents, it protects the grain silos where the Egyptians stored their harvest (especially wheat), a vital resource for this farming people. By hunting rats and other rodents, the cat also eliminates vectors of serious communicable diseases, such as the plague. Finally, by hunting snakes, especially horned vipers, they make the area around the homes in their territory safer.
Like all good hunters, felines remain predators that helped the Egyptians to get rid of pests. The farmers saw this as a sign of protection from these animals. From then on, they devoted a real cult to them, allowing them to avoid famine. Consequently, these animals considered sacred by the people had a place of choice in Egyptian society.
Cats as objects of worship
Although the cult of the cat was already an important religious movement at the advent of the New Kingdom, it gained momentum when Sheshonq I developed the city of Bubastis (in Arabic: Tell Basta), the chief town of the goddess Bastet, located east of the Nile Delta.
Bastet became very popular and important among the population, representing fertility, motherhood, protection, and the benevolent (in the etymological sense, goodwill) aspect of the sun - along with Sekhmet, she was called the Eye of Ra.
Bringing together thousands of believers and as many pilgrims, the cult of the cat was responsible for the annual arrival of a huge population in the streets of Bubastis. Bubastis became another name for Bastet.
The temple of the cats
It seems that each temple had its oats. A "guardian of the cats" (an important position transmitted hereditarily) was in charge of them. The cat, like other sacred animals, had a special status in Egyptian society. Thus it was forbidden to kill or even mistreat cats, and offenders risked a very heavy penalty that could go as far as death - a penalty surely proportional to the importance of the said cat. Diodorus of Sicily, a Greek historian, describes a scene that took place around 60 BC: a Roman chariot accidentally ran over an Egyptian cat and, despite the orders of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII, an Egyptian soldier killed the driver.
The mummification of cats
The thousands of cat mummies found in cat cemeteries can make us think that it was the most popular animal in ancient Egypt. Depending on the standard of living of their master, the cat mummies were of more or less good and robust quality. The latter could have the mummy of their cat at their side when they were buried.
In the palaces, the cat was the domestic animal par excellence, raised in abundance. The tradition was that their masters shaved their eyebrows as a sign of respect when the cat passed away and a mourning period of seventy days was held during the time of its mummification. The cat sometimes accompanies its master in the afterlife in the form of a statuette (or carved on the burial grounds). The cat is also represented on many vases, jewels, and dishes, as well as in paintings (especially under the seat of the woman, as a protective symbol).
The goddess Bastet and her symbolic representation of cats
Originally, she adopted the form of a lioness. Her representation was a form of a cat's head with all the symbolism that we know today.
The Egyptians saw the gods not as simple spirits, but as intelligent entities, capable of incarnating in any being or object. A crystal cup, decorated with the image of the panther-headed goddess Mafdet, dates from about 3100 BC and is the earliest form of deity represented in Egypt.
Bastet, the cat-headed goddess, was originally painted as a protective and warlike lion. Her image, over time, has been modified to associate her with domestic cats, benevolent but wild.
Cats, as the embodiment of Bastet, were mummified. The respect they received after death reflected the respect they commanded every day of their lives. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the Egyptians stationed themselves around fires to ensure that no cat would burn. When a cat died, Herodotus also wrote, the family mourned and shaved their eyebrows in sorrow.
Moreover, the great goddess Bastet, daughter of the divine sun, had a vengeful role for the sun god Ra. In other words, this goddess also inspired fear.