Figurine of a Cat

Figurine of a Cat

An Egyptian figurine of a cat. This figurine has not yet been identified in the Queensland Museum collection, but is the subject of further research.

The figurine is part of a collection of nine antiquities and coins said to have been collected by Driver Leonard Dimmick near Mena Camp outside Cairo, Egypt. In February 1915 an article appeared in the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin mentioning Roman coins excavated by Leonard near the Pyramids. He had sent these souvenirs back to his father in Australia, along with Egyptian coins, trinkets and fossils. The artefacts deposited at the Queensland Museum by William Dimmick in 1923 probably match those sent home in 1915, plus a "stone curio" from Leonard's personal effects, returned to his father in 1916.

A letter dated 12 March 1923 from William Dimmick to AH Longman, Director of the Queensland Museum, records that his two sons "met in Egypt before going over and spent Sunday afternoons digging among the graves for curios of which they sent me several small ones." Although digging for artefacts in this way was not legal in Egypt, it was a common pastime for soldiers during the war. They might undertake such diggings alone, but often where lead to a likely spot by a local guide, who had seeded the area with genuine and genuine-looking artefacts for his unsuspecting followers to find. It is possible that some of the genuine antiquities in the collection were acquired in this way, but the fakes may have been purchased from an antiquities vendor. There are numerous descriptions of vendors selling fake antiquities to unsuspecting tourists and soldiers.

C.009.007

Collected by Drv. Leonard Dimmick, Mena Camp, Egypt, 1915.
Donated by Mr. William Dimmick to the Queensland Museum, 15 March 1923.

Queensland Museum, Brisbane

Queensland Museum Donor Schedule #23/55 (1923).

Queensland Museum Donor Schedule #23/143 (1923).

Queensland Museum Inwards Correspondence #00127 (1923).

Queensland Museum Outward Correspondence #00055 (1923).

Queensland Museum Miscellaneous Register, A737-42; 752.

Local and General News. (1915, February 23). Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954), p. 7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article53354663

National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; DIMMICK L, Dimmick Leonard : SERN 312, 1914 – 1920.

P.009

Mr James Donaldson