Macabre 18th Century mummified cat ward against witchcraft The lower half of the

The lower half of the vessel is wood with a wide band of leather very finely stitched onto the top

This example was part of a collection that came from a medical college

It has a nice colour and is a really tactile object

The colour and stringing of the bones indicate that these were probably prepared in the first half of the 20th Century

There is a hole in the scapula and also the head of the fibula has crumbled a little as it has become friable over the years

Macabre 18th Century mummified cat ward against witchcraft The lower half of theThe practice of putting sealing up dead animals into the walls of houses has been going since the middle ages in Europe. The belief seemed to be that a dried cat or dog would protect against witchcraft and scare a witch's familiar away from the house. It might have also been believed that the presence of these mummified animals also scared away rats and mice. This cat was discovered behind the plaster when the owner was renovating a house that dated