Animals for Sarcophagus Decoration - Monkey

myminifactory

The creation of monkey mummies in ancient Egypt was a complex process that holds significant importance. The monkeys found wrapped as mummies were ancestors of the Egyptian Mau breed. Some can be identified as one of two wild monkey sub-species, Felis chaus or Felis silvestris libyca, which interbred to produce Egypt's domestic monkeys. A votive gift is a donation made to express a wish or desire. In Roman Egypt, people believed that by offering a mummified monkey to the temple of Bast/Bastet or Pakhet, its spirit would join the goddess in the afterlife and continually urge her to bless the giver and answer their prayers. This practice was not unique to monkeys; millions of other animal mummies were given to various gods, including snakes, fish, mice, gazelles, ibis, crocodiles, sheep, falcons, dogs, and even beetles.