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| Detail of the cat from Nebamun's Tomb - British Museum |
The Original GoldenEye?
No, not a satellite from a Bond film, but this little ancient Egyptian cat with gold eyes hunting with her human, a New Kingdom nobleman. The cat's eye, now unfortunately mostly lost when its gum arabic binding fell away, was gilded, but if you look closely you can still see some some gold at the top.
From the tomb chapel of Nebamun - scribe and Grain accountant in the Granary of Divine Offerings of Amun, this cat is part of a hunting scene, which shows plants, animals, insects and birds in extraordinary detail.
Recommended reading:
Parkinson.R, (2008) The Tomb Chapel of Nebamun: Masterpieces of ancient Egyptian art in the British Museum London: British Museum Press
Image detail from:
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/u/0/asset-viewer/nebamun-hunting-in-the-marshes-fragment-of-a-scene-from-the-tomb-chapel-of-nebamun/WwExBtEl3-WDgg
Dolly Mohamed Doddy It is an example of the lavish decoration in the tomb chapel, and it's realistic. My cat's eyes were gold. :)
ReplyDeleteA further thought on the decoration, which should be noted is from a Tomb chapel not a tomb itself (that has been lost) is that this would have been moderately "public" a place for Nebamun's family and friends to hold mortuary feasts, and offer to his ka so this might be a case of "if you've got it, flaunt it".
ReplyDeleteAakheperure Merytsekhmet I love your cat ,it has a natural feeling of the art :)
ReplyDelete