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Announcer: This is
a Getty Podcast.

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Host: Before we get started,
I have to know—are a cat

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person or a dog person?

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If you said dog person, can you
pretend you said cat person?

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Because today a very
special cat tells her tale.

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Welcome to If Objects Could
Talk, a podcast where art

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and artifacts get to leave
the museum vault and tell

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their side of the story.

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Thanks for joining us as we
bring objects into the light!

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When you imagine life in
ancient Egypt, do you think

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about pyramids and mummies?

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Maybe libraries?

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Or do you think about cats?

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Cats were kind of a big deal
for Egyptians—they protected

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food from pests, for instance.

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But they were also important
in Egyptian mythology.

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The goddess Bastet had the
head of a cat and the body

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of a human and she had
the power to shapeshift

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into a fully feline form.

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This is why many of her
worshipers left cat-shaped

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gifts at her temples.

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Today’s guest was likely one
of these gifts—a bronze cat

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statuette, about one foot tall.

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It was made in Egypt over
two thousand years ago.

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In the grand history of
Egypt, that’s more than two

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thousand years after the
pyramids were built, and

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a little before Cleopatra
met her serpentine end.

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This cat has had a history
of being misunderstood, so

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we are grateful she agreed
to postpone her nap to get

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her story straightened out.

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Here she comes.

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Bastet Statuette: [Meows] I
am sure it’s a great delight

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to hear from me, but this is
no casual audio interlude.

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There have been a lot of
rumors and half-truths

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told about me in the past.

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Some thoughtless gossip!

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So, I thought I would set
the record straight one last

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time and then wash my paws
of the entire situation.

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First, I am not, nor
have I ever claimed to

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be, the goddess Bastet.

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I am merely a beautiful
gift, made in her image,

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in celebration of her
divinity and perhaps in

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fear of her power as well.

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There were thousands of bronze
and wood cat statuettes like me

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meant to be votives at temples
dedicated to the goddess.

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However, I am one-of-a-kind.

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Oh, I should probably
explain what a votive is.

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A votive is a gift or
offering to say thank you.

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What do you do to thank someone?

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Do you draw a picture
or give a big hug?

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I think everyone should practice
a little more gratitude.

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It makes you feel warm, like
standing in the Egyptian sun.

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Try it!

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Write a thank you
note to someone, even

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if it’s to yourself.

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Celebrate a great choice
or accomplishment and

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don’t spare any details.

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Details matter when
you are giving thanks.

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My favorite way to give thanks
is to take a little nap,

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because being well rested
is a gift for everyone.

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I say, “Thank you, self,
for being gorgeous” and

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then off to dream land.

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For those of you talking
about my size, well,

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I love the way I look.

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I’m not very big—only
about a foot tall—about the

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height of two dollar bills.

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But I sit upright with
my head held proudly and

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my ears at attention.

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Don’t let my tail curled
around my front paws fool you.

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I may love a good nap, but
you should beware of my bite.

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I also heard that I
am some sort of diva?

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A cat wears a little jewelry
and suddenly you’re typecast?

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Fine.

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Guilty as charged!

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I am a fancy cat.

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My eyes are currently bare,
but were likely inlaid with

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gold or another precious
material, like stone or glass.

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I can hardly remember anymore.

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See—not so
materialistic after all!

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But I do still have my necklace
with a pendant of Wedjat, or

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sacred eye amulet, which looks
like a stylized eye and eyebrow.

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But I don’t just wear it
because it’s dazzling, I wear

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it because it has meaning!

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The story goes that the
eye was stolen from Horus

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the god of goodness and
kingship, by Seth, the god

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of the wild, untamed nature.

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This caused chaos
in the universe!

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Which I don’t think
is necessarily bad.

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I mean, which cat among us
has never knocked a glass

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off a ledge just because?

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But anyway, the eye had
to be brought back to

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reestablish order—yada,
yada, yada—and it represents

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healing and protection, just
a few of my dear goddess

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Bastet’s many specialties.

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Bastet was the daughter of the
sun god, Ra, and traveled with

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him across the sky in his sun
boat to move the sun throughout

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the day from sunrise to sunset.

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She was also the goddess
of music, dance, family,

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healing, and birth.

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She had the head of a cat and
the body of a human, but when

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she needed to protect her
father, she turned one hundred

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percent cat, which means she
was one hundred percent fierce.

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And if I may be so bold as to
speak for all cats for a moment,

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we are not idle, tame creatures.

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We are powerful protectors!

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And you are so lucky we
allow you to keep us as pets.

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Where are the thank you
notes for the cats of today?

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Why in my time, cats belonging
to the wealthy families were

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adorned with jewels, like
my beautiful eye necklace.

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And when a cat died, as a sign
of mourning, the cat owners

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shaved off their eyebrows,
and continued to mourn until

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their eyebrows grew back.

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Some cats were so beloved that
they were mummified and placed

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in tombs with their owners.

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It’s true!

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The belief was that by placing
cats and their owners in the

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same tomb the pair could remain
together in the afterlife.

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Ha, and you say dogs
are man’s best friend.

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How about not!

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I’ve also heard rumors
going around that I am

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made of one hundred percent
“cattitude,” whatever that

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is. But I assure you, I’m
one hundred percent bronze.

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I can prove it.

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I was made from a mold in one
of the most advanced technical

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processes from antiquity
called lost wax casting.

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Lost wax casting was so advanced
that it’s still used today!

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An artisan makes a rough
cat model out of clay.

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Next, a thin layer of wax was
modeled over the clay, with

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all the finer details, like
my whiskers and necklace.

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Then my entire shape was encased
with more clay, leaving a

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few open channels and vents.

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The whole block of clay
and wax was heated, melting

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the wax in between the core
and the outer clay shell.

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In the now empty space where
the wax used to be, hot

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liquid bronze was poured.

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When the bronze had cooled, the
mold was broken open and voila!

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A perfect kitty cat with a
tummy full of fired clay.

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That could be removed to
create a hollow inside.

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Maybe the perfect space for a
cat mummy to spend eternity?

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I’m sure that being hollow on
the inside is where the rumors

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that I’m heartless came from.

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But that’s also not true.

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How can I be heartless
when I love me?

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Now, on to the
rumors about my age.

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Because of my youthful and
smooth appearance, for a

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long time, experts didn’t
believe I was really an

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ancient Egyptian cat.

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They thought I was merely
a young copycat, a fake!

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To prove that I was
authentically me, I had to go

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through all sorts of tests.

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They told me it was all
perfectly safe, but still

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I was quite nervous.

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If you’ve ever been
to a hospital, you’ll

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understand what I mean.

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The lights, sounds, and machines
can be very overwhelming.

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But just like you have
to be brave so nurses and

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doctors can make you feel
better, I had to be brave

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to prove my doubters wrong!

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Here’s how it went down.

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First, a team of conservators
and other experts brought

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me into their laboratory.

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Conservators are like
doctors who keep artworks

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like yours truly healthy.

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They use the latest tools
to understand how we’re

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made and what we’re made
from so they can keep us

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looking and feeling our best.

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Once the conservators got me
in the lab, they took x-rays,

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did metal analysis, and
used teeny tiny microscopes

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to check my insides.

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Have you ever gotten an x-ray?

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Maybe to find a broken bone?

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The experts didn’t find
a broken bone, but they

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did discover something
rattling around in my head.

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Bits of ancient clay perhaps?

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I would need surgery to pull
out the item stuck inside.

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So I was taken off of my
wooden base and a conservator

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reached inside and expertly
removed a piece of material

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that was near my ear.

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A sample of that material
was carefully packaged and

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was sent to a laboratory in
Oxford, England for testing.

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Like I said, I’m
a very fancy cat.

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It turned out the material
could be dated to between

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1,700 and 2,700 years ago!

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So, we have real proof that
I wasn’t lying about my age!

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My youthful glow is from
an experimental skincare

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regimen involving beeswax
and plenty of rest.

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Wow!

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Setting the record
straight is exhausting.

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Back to the vault.

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I’m sure now that the truth
is out, I am going to have the

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best cat nap of my nine lives.

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Host: I hope you
enjoyed learning about

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cats and conservation.

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Join us next time when a fish
flask swims into the studio.

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To see photographs of the
Bastet statuette and learn

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more about her conservation,
visit our website at Getty

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dot edu slash podcasts.

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This episode was written
by Tocarra Elise and

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produced by Zoe Goldman.

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Chloe Mei Li Bundt
voiced the statuette.

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Theme music, mixing and sound
design by Alexandra Kalinowski.

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Christopher Sprinkle
is executive producer.

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Special thanks to curators
Ken Lapatin, Judith Barr, Hana

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Sugioka, and Sara Cole, as well
as conservator Susanne Gänsicke.

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Catch you next time!