What does the Reclining Cat tell us about the early global world?
The reclining cat sculpture offers a glimpse into the Seljuq era's vibrant cultural mosaic. With its masterful bronze casting and copper inlay, the piece underscores the artistic excellence of the time and its Persian, Turkic, and Islamic influences.
This epoch, characterized by its economic dynamism and the Seljuq dynasty's enthusiastic patronage of the arts, was a crucible for intellectual, artistic, and scientific breakthroughs. The detailed craftsmanship and embedded inscriptions of the sculpture suggest a society steeped in a quest for knowledge, spiritual exploration, and appreciation for the natural world, including the domestic animal we still cherish today -- the cat.
Audrey Wang, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
