Minneapolis Institute of Art

A Cat of Bubastis

D. Y. Cameron

Date

1909 (printed 1911)

Medium

Etching and drypoint

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Though best known for his landscapes and architectural studies of European subjects, D.Y. Cameron also created a number of delicate interpretations of ancient Egyptian artifacts he saw in Cairo’s Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. Inspired by what he deemed to be a “purity of Egyptian design, ” Cameron produced austere rendering of objects isolated from their original museum setting, as in this sensitive depiction of a life-size bronze sculpture of a domestic cat. Named for its archeological origin, the title references the ancient city of Bubastis, located on the Nile River in the delta region of Lower Egypt, and known as a center for the worship of the cat goddess Bastet. Cats were revered in ancient Egyptian society, with the cat deity Bastet venerated for its attributes of maternal protection and fertility. Scotland

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