Egyptian Cat Nail File

Exclusive to the British Museum, a nail file with an ancient Egyptian inspired design.

One side of the decorative nail file features large hieroglyphic symbols with gold borders containing the outlines of two cats. The reverse side features rows of text in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Sacred to the ancient Egyptians, cats were particularly important to the goddess Bast (Bastet). She was often depicted as having the body of a woman and the head of a cat. The hieroglyphs silhouetted against the teal background have been taken from the limestone false door of the High Priest Ptahshepses, which is now housed in the British Museum.

A handy souvenir of the British Museum’s ancient Egyptian galleries.