We don’t really know if Nebamun was a cat lover or not. Nebamun was a ‘scribe and counter of grain’ – an accountant of sorts – during Egypt’s New Kingdom, around 1350 BC. The actual location of his tomb, somewhere around ancient Thebes is a mystery, however paintings from his tomb-chapel found their way to the British Museum in the early 1800s. One section shows Nebamun and his family hunting birds in the lush Nile marshes which teem with wildlife. These scenes tell us how Nebamun wanted to spend eternity. Leaping into all the action is a talented ginger cat. In his mouth is a Pintail Duck. He clutches a dove between his front paws and a wagtail between his back. This could very well be Nebamun’s trained retriever cat. However, since there are remnants of gilding in his eye, the cat could be representative of the sun-god, helping to restore order amongst chaos – a central Egyptian theme.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 09:36:40 +0000
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