Cat Goddess At The Old Museum

Babysitting again today so took my young nephew to Swansea Museum, the one that the poet Dylan Thomas described as ‘the museum that should be in a museum’ because it’s such a quintessentially Victorian museum, so very typical of its era. We went up to the Egyptology exhibit, because small children seem to be fascinated by mummies – I can remember feeling the same when we had primary school trips to visit the museum. While the young sprog drew the massive sarcophagus, I scribbled away at a small head of the cat goddess Bastet, dating from about 400 BCE. When you look at it, the unassuming little sculpture seems very simple but when you try to draw it, you realise just how complicated and beautifully made it is. It’s a lovely example of craft in art and the craft of art. I’m a big fan of Grayson Perry and this little sculpture reminded me of his exhibition at the British Museum, The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, which venerates all those long-dead craftsmen who made great, wonderful art. My quick little scribble doesn’t do it justice.