18 November 2010

Nose ring and earrings on a cat

The bronze figure is Egyptian, from the late period (after 600 BC), from the collections of the British Museum.  In addition to the gold rings, the figure has "a silvered collar round its neck and a silver protective wedjat eye amulet.

I'm wondering whether such adornments were placed on the bronze for symbolic/reverential reasons, or whether they portray an actual practice of the time.  Does anyone know if the Egyptians pierced the ears and noses of their cats?  Crazy cat lady - any thoughts??

Photo via Uncertain Times, which has lots of interesting material.

4 comments:

  1. andiscandisNovember 18, 2010 at 2:31 PM

    Without the use of a powerful sedative (did they have those then?) I'm not sure HOW you'd go about piercing anything on a live cat.

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  2. EmilyNovember 18, 2010 at 9:33 PM

    I'm with andiscandis-- sometimes it's hard enough to even comb a cat's hair without it squirming away and/or scratching.

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  3. AnonymousNovember 19, 2010 at 9:30 AM

    even if it could be pierced that cat would probably scratch at the wound, possibly getting it infected and then dying. Doesn't seem too logical but then again it was pyramidal Egypt.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 19, 2010 at 6:46 PM

    My cat wanted to get this done, but I told her not until she was 18 and moved out of the house...

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