To Be a Cat or not to Be a Cat?
Being a cat isn’t always as effortless as it looks. Admired for their elegance and independence, cats also navigate a world full of contradictions. They’re loved as companions, yet often misunderstood; celebrated in some cultures, and mistrusted in others. Some enjoy lives of comfort, while others survive on the margins, vulnerable to neglect or danger. To be a cat is to move between affection and ambiguity, navigating human expectations with quiet resilience. It may look graceful, but it isn’t always easy.
To be or not to be a cat? This is the question posed by this trio of enigmatic objects, each bearing features that may suggest a feline form. Ears perked, tails curled, bodies poised in ambiguous silhouettes – these figures invite us to look closer and question our assumptions. Are we seeing cats because we want to – because the cat, with its rich symbolic history and quiet presence, is a creature we expect and are accustomed to find? Or are these forms deliberately elusive, hovering between representation and abstraction? To be – or not quite to be – a cat, then, is an invitation for reflection: in asking whether these are truly images of cats, we also explore how meaning takes shape through interpretation and memory.
The camel and the feline
Fritware with applied elements, opaque turquoise glaze. Allegedly Seljuk, northeastern Iran, 12th – 13th century. 31.5 cm x 8.3 cm x 17 cm, weight 1.092 kg. Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin State Museums, I. 77/62
This statuette of a standing camel carrying a tent-like ceremonial seat (howdah) often used in procession contexts does not immediately reveal its feline connection. However, the construction is supported by seven small human figures and was originally topped with two cat-like figures, one of which has broken off.
Who made this object and for what purpose? How would it have been used or carried, or was it produced simply for the joy of appreciation? What is the meaning of the figures that adorn it? While these questions remained unanswered for the time being, the uncertainty surrounding an object's original use or intention can be valuable in itself. It reminds us that history is often fragmentary. But rather than diminishing significance, this mystery can deepen our engagement, encouraging reflection on the various lives this statuette may have touched, as well as on the socio-political contexts in which feline figures would have been accorded such positions of prestige.
The statuette was purchased for the museum in 1962 from the art and antiquities dealership of Saeed Motamed in Frankfurt.
Meow-ewer?
Copper, tin, raised, soldered, tin-plated, engraved/ chased. Iran, 18th – 19th century. 34 x 24 x 11.2 cm, weight 1.47 kg. Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin State Museums, I. 8856.1
This ewer with a curved handle, rounded body, narrow foot, and steep spout forms part of a two-piece wash set. The set’s second part is a plate (I. 8856.2). The ewer’s slender, elongated neck widens toward the rim in a vase-like shape. Its decoration combines techniques of creating raised relief patterns – usually worked from the backside – and chasing, where fine details are worked into the frontside. These techniques require careful control and skill to shape the metal without breaking or thinning it too much.
On the flattened sides of the body, concentric friezes with geometric patterns are arranged around a feline-like figure with a short snout and long tail. Hovering between cat, leopard, or perhaps another creature entirely, the image’s ambiguous depictions becomes part of its appeal. Uncertainty reflects both the artist’s imagination and the viewer’s curiosity. Rather than a definitive identification, the figure invites thoughtful observation and acknowledges the playful, sometimes enigmatic nature of figural representation.
Ewer and plate were acquired from the estate of Eugen Wirth (1925-2012). Wirth served as director of the Institute of Geography at the University of Erlangen, with a particular interest in cultural geography and urban development of North Africa and West Asia.
Cat or dog? Or something else entirely?
The verdict is still pending: the museum’s archive described the central figure alternatively as “a feline” and “a greyhound.” So, which visual features define one or the other?
Felines and greyhounds are strikingly different in form and posture. Felines, such as lions or leopards, have compact, muscular bodies with broad chests, short legs, and rounded heads. They are often depicted with prominent claws and expressive, forward-facing eyes, conveying strength, stealth, and agility. In contrast, greyhounds have slender, elongated bodies, long legs, and a narrow, aerodynamic head with a long snout. Greyhounds are built for speed and are often depicted in motion, with a graceful, fluid stance.
Whether cat or dog, the figure has been painted onto the tile in lustre technique, together with a further animal and vegetal decoration. Lustre painting is a ceramic decoration technique that creates a metallic, iridescent surface sheen. It reached a high point in the Iranian city of Kāshān in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. A recent story published on this portal further explores art historical and technological aspects of lustre production.
The tile forms part of a larger panel (I. 3866a) consisting of ten eight-pointed star tiles and four cross-shaped tiles. While the cross-shaped tiles – perhaps produced only in the nineteenth or twentieth centuries – are covered with an opaque turquoise glaze, the star-shaped tiles feature lustre-painted designs. They depict animals, floral and vegetal forms, as well as a human figure. Some contain inscriptions. We cannot follow the exact reasoning behind this choice of figures, but the animals depicted must have held cultural-spiritual, economic, or political value.
This tile was acquired, together with others, at auction in 1942.
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