Statuette of Re as a Standing Tomcat
Description
Object Label: Traced on the ear of many cat statuettes is the feather of Ma 'at (cosmic harmony), identifying them as manifestations of the sun god Re because Ma 'at was closely linked with that deity. Although this statuette does not have such a design, it, too, probably represents Re, especially since it carries in its left hand an aegis, or insignia, in the form of the head of a lioness goddess associated with Re. The cat's classical knee-length, sleeveless tunic, called a chiton, reflects the cosmopolitan society of Ptolemaic Egypt. Its pierced ears originally held gold earrings. Caption: Statuette of Re as a Standing Tomcat, 305–30 B.C.E.. Bronze, 5 7/8 x 2 1/4 in. (14.9 x 5.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 69.113.
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
A small bronze statuette depicts a standing, mummiform feline figure with a raised paw, shown in side/front view against a plain background.
The object is a standing animal-headed figure with distinctly felid features (upright, pointed ears and a short muzzle). Its body is rendered with incised/raised linear detailing across the torso and legs, giving an appearence similar to a humanized deity statue form. One forepaw is extended forward while the other is held raised, as if offering or holding something. The feline has a darkened patina overall. No clearly legible hieroglyphic, Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible on the image, and there are no clearly discernible cartouches or royal names. The catalogue describes it as a statuette of Re as a standing tomcat; the feline iconography matches a cat deity representation, but the image does not provide direct textual or iconographic confirmation specifically identifying it as Re beyond that general theme.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 69.113 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3782 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.