Rare Large Antique Egyptian Bronze Cat StatueAncient Egypt Goddess Bastet/Bast

  

Rare Large Antique Egyptian Bronze Cat Statue. 1 3/4" (4.5 cm) wide x 2 3/4" (7 cm) deep x 5 5/8 (14.3 cm) high. 1 Lbs 0.1 oz (456 g) Bronze.

The beautiful goddess of cats, women's secrets, childbirth, fertility, and protector of the hearth and home from evil or misfortune. She was the daughter of Ra and closely associated with Hathor. Bastet was one of the most popular deities of ancient Egypt. Men and women revered her equally and carried talismans of her cult.

She was so universally adored that, in 525 BCE, the Persians used the Egyptian devotion to Bastet to their advantage in winning the Battle of Pelusium. They painted images of Bastet on their shields and drove animals in front of their army knowing the Egyptians would rather surrender than offend their goddess. She is depicted as a cat or a woman with a cat's head, and her major cult center was at Bubastis.