Bradenton Woman's Mummified Cat to Be Auctioned

A mummified cat last owned by a Bradenton-area woman will be auctioned off to the highest bidder in London on May 1, according to the Bonham auction house.

970WFLA.com is reporting that the cat mummy was owned by a woman who inherited it from her stepfather, Morgan Wing. The mummy was aquired during a 1920s archaeological dig in Egypt, according to Bonham.

Bidding will start at $3,100 during the antiquities auction.  Here's how the website describes the item:

"An Egyptian mummified cat: Late Period to Ptolemaic, circa 664-30 B.C.
Wrapped in multiple overlapping strips of vertical and horizontal bandages, with applied bandage spirals for the eyes and nose, some bitumen remaining, some damage to the mouth and ears, 10¼in (26cm) high."

970WFLA.com interviewed Dale Smrekar, a certified personal property appraiser in Tampa, who said that foreign collectors in the early 1900s would acquire Egyptian artifacts, a practice that is not allowed today.

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