a must see for egyptian cat fans: head to brooklyn!

courtesy the brooklyn museum, creative commons-by. 

Beautiful, powerful, yet slightly discomforting in presence, this solid wood cat with inlaid eyes dates from Egypt's Ptolemaic-Roman period.  Though she retains some of the traditional Egyptian discipline in posture, her rounded and muscular body speaks of new influences mixing into the old.  I find it fascinating what happens when cultures collide.
Want to see this and a host of other cat-shaped treasures?  Then you'd better plan to get over to the Brooklyn Museum, where the exhibition Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt has just gotten underway.  It'll be up for over a year.  Meanwhile, the show's curator, Yekaterina Barbash, gave a friendly interview to Catster that you'll like reading.


Caption: Figure of a Cat, 305 B.C.E.-1st century C.E. Wood, gilded gesso, bronze, rock crystal, glass, 25 9/16 x 6 5/16 x 11 13/16 in. (65 x 16 x 30 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund , 37.1945E. Creative Commons-BY
Image: overall, 37.1945E_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph