AN EGYPTIAN AMETHYST AMULET IN THE FORM OF A SEATED CAT Late Dynastic Period, 25th - 31st Dynasty, Circa 715 - 332 B.C. The cat sits on its haunches on an integral base, its tail neatly curled to the right. Its front paws are held next to each other at the end of strong, broad legs, erect pointed ears crown the finely detailed face, at the top of the shoulders a striated circular suspension loop. This is a particularly large and handsome example of the type of amulet that was made using, semi-precious stones admired for their beauty and decorative qualities, 2.5cm high, Provenance: Private collection, France, acquired 1978; Sold Christie's 8th June 2007, lot 35,  Literature: See Madeleine Page-Gasser and Andre Weise, with Thomas Schneider and Sylvia Winterhalter, Égypte, 'Moments d' éternité. Art égyptien dans les collections privées, Suisse' (Mainz, 1998) p.144, fig. 87, for a similar example in carnelian and Dr. Hans D. Schneider, Egyptisch Kunsthandwerk, Rijksmuseum van Ouden, Leiden, (Amsterdam, 1995) fig. 32, for an example in rock crystal,