The Cat in Ancient Egypt

This rare volume is a detailed visual record of art and artifacts associated with the worship of the cat and the goddess Bastet in ancient Egypt. The book begins with a brief history of the cult, tracing its development from earliest times to the height of its popularity under the Bubastite dynasty, noting that organized divinity only passed from the cat and the goddess in 392 AD when the Emperor Theodosius I forbade paganism. The remainder of the work, profusely illustrated with objects from the authors' collection, describes pieces depicting cat figures, cat heads, groups, inscriptions, mummy cases, scarabs, amulets and jewelry.