The Ure mummified cat's head is the unwrapped head and neck remains of an ancient Egyptian

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

domestic cat. The

animal mummy Animal mummification was common in ancient Egypt. Animals were an enormous part of Egyptian culture, not only in their role as food and pets, but also for religious reasons. Many different types of animals were mummified, typically for four main p ...

has been displayed in a glass jar contemporary with its discovery in the late 1800s. The cat's remains are in the collection of the

Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology The Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology is a museum of ancient Mediterranean archaeology, primarily that of ancient Greek civilisation but with smaller collections of Egyptian, Etruscan and Roman items. It contains one of the most important collectio ...

Reading, England Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

Description

Only the cat's head and neck remain, with most of the original wrapping having been removed. The head has been preserved well enough that teeth and whiskers remain clearly visible, and most of the skin remains intact. The head is sealed in a Victorian glass jar closed with a newspaper-wrapped cork lid. Within the jar, alongside the head, is an invitation card the reverse of which has been used as a makeshift label for the contents, helping to date the jar.

Provenance

The item as-is entered the collection of the Ure Museum, along with a number of other ancient Egyptian items, in 1958 as part of a donation by Professor Henry Bassett,

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

Professor of Chemistry from 1912 to 1946 and Dean of the Faculty of Science from 1926 to 1930. How Bassett came to own it and its prior history are currently unknown. It is, however, very likely that the mummy was one of a number saved from being processed into fertilizer in the 1890s. In February 1890, several tons of mummified cats of varying conditions arrived at

Liverpool Docks The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the ...

and were auctioned for processing into fertilizer (and fuel). These had been discovered (by accident) in 1889 at

Speos Artemidos The Speos Artemidos (Grotto of Artemis) is an archaeological site in Egypt. It is located about 2 km south of the Middle Kingdom tombs at Beni Hasan, and about 28 km south of Al Minya. Today, the site is a small village known as Ista ...

, close to

Beni Hasan Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) ( ar, بني حسن) is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Mem ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Some of the better-preserved cats, or parts of them, were auctioned off singly; a number of these are on display at the National Museums Liverpool’s

World Museum World Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a planetarium. Entry to the ...

. The importation and subsequent auctioning of the mummified cats became a media phenomenon, with numerous national and international newspapers reporting on the proceedings; locals and tourists attended the auctions, too, leading to notable crowds at the related events.

Modern history

The cat's head is on permanent display in the museum's Death section. The object has also played a prominent role in previous marketing for the museum and is one of the best-known items of the collection.

Description

Provenance

Modern history

References

Further reading