The title of this week’s column belies one of my prejudices: I am not a cat person. But judging by their extreme popularity, not everyone is this way. I get that, and at the very same time, I don’t. The ancient Egyptians hold the title as the most devoted cat people to have ever lived, elevating them in status to the incarnation of Bastet, the goddess of warfare in Lower Egypt. Bastet’s temple was in Bubastis, located along the Nile in the river delta, in what is now modern day Zagazig. Being the ritual temple of human history’s most notorious cat-lady, Bubastis holds the title as one of the largest cat cemeteries in the world. More than 300,000 mummified cats were found during excavations from the end of the Nineteenth Century to today. And not only there, but massive cat burials in the hundreds of thousands were found in Beni Hasan and Saqqara as well. It leaves one to wonder the exponential lifespan of a mummified cat, until you remember that the answer is supposed to be the stuff of nightmares for someone like me: forever. A mummified cat approaches the block at Morphy Auctions, joining other top lots from around the United States in this week’s picks.
MORPHY AUCTIONS
Sale Date: August 29–30, 2018
Lot 257
Egyptian Mummified Cat In Display Case
Late Ptolemaic period, Egypt. The small animal wrapped in appropriate material and now displayed on a museum stand with glass dome. The cat is 9 inches tall.
Estimate: $1,5/2,000
Lot 257
Egyptian Mummified Cat In Display Case
Late Ptolemaic period, Egypt. The small animal wrapped in appropriate material and now displayed on a museum stand with glass dome. The cat is 9 inches tall.
Estimate: $1,5/2,000
D.L. STRAIGHT
Sale Date: August 28, 2018
Lot 146
Seventeenth Century Red Stepback Cupboard
Hudson River Valley, old red paint, original crest, circa 1690–1720, 36 inches high.
Estimate: $400/800
Lot 146
Seventeenth Century Red Stepback Cupboard
Hudson River Valley, old red paint, original crest, circa 1690–1720, 36 inches high.
Estimate: $400/800
APPLEBROOK AUCTIONS
Sale Date: August 30, 2018
Lot 147
Attributed to John Carlin (N.Y., 1813–1891)
Portraits of James Henry Hammond and Josephine Hammond, Tarrytown, N.Y., circa 1836, unsigned. Oil on canvas, 45¼ inches high.
Estimate: $3/4,000
Lot 147
Attributed to John Carlin (N.Y., 1813–1891)
Portraits of James Henry Hammond and Josephine Hammond, Tarrytown, N.Y., circa 1836, unsigned. Oil on canvas, 45¼ inches high.
Estimate: $3/4,000
WINTER ASSOCIATES
Sale Date: August 27, 2018
Lot 101
Delft Porcelain Plaques
Pair of Joost Thooft and Labouchere blue and white glazed porcelain plaques, shield-form with raised scroll decoration, artist signed, each 21¾ inches high.
Estimate: $750-1,500
Lot 101
Delft Porcelain Plaques
Pair of Joost Thooft and Labouchere blue and white glazed porcelain plaques, shield-form with raised scroll decoration, artist signed, each 21¾ inches high.
Estimate: $750-1,500
WILLIAM SMITH INC
Sale Date: September 3, 2018
Hadley Carved Pine and Oak Chest
Early Eighteenth Century, initials S.E., Fenn/Raley family.
Estimate: $10/15,000
Hadley Carved Pine and Oak Chest
Early Eighteenth Century, initials S.E., Fenn/Raley family.
Estimate: $10/15,000
ROBERT FOSTER
Sale Date: September 1–2, 2018
Lot 79
Large Antique Gilt Copper Arrow Weathervane
With sunflower tail on fancy wrought iron post, 65 inches long. Found in a barn, came off a Maine church.
Estimate: $1/2,000
Lot 79
Large Antique Gilt Copper Arrow Weathervane
With sunflower tail on fancy wrought iron post, 65 inches long. Found in a barn, came off a Maine church.
Estimate: $1/2,000
KODNER GALLERIES
Sale Date: August 29–30, 2018
Lot 241
Los Castillo Owl Pitcher
Mexican, Twentieth Century, Taxco silver-plate, mother of pearl and blue glass. Signed, 11-3/8 inches high.
Estimate: $1/1,500
Lot 241
Los Castillo Owl Pitcher
Mexican, Twentieth Century, Taxco silver-plate, mother of pearl and blue glass. Signed, 11-3/8 inches high.
Estimate: $1/1,500
ASHCROFT & MOORE
Sale Date: August 29, 2018
Lot 61
Ossuary Bone Arm Chair
Artisan assembled chair made with naturally collected bones, 30 inches high.
Estimate: $600-1,200
Lot 61
Ossuary Bone Arm Chair
Artisan assembled chair made with naturally collected bones, 30 inches high.
Estimate: $600-1,200
POOK & POOK
Sale Date: August 29-30, 2018
Lot 3342
Painted Seamen’s Chest Lid
Dated 1850, 19¼ inches high.
Estimate: $140/240
Lot 3342
Painted Seamen’s Chest Lid
Dated 1850, 19¼ inches high.
Estimate: $140/240
