ART

A bronze Egyptian cat that was one of the most popular items at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is probably a fake, according to a report published in the New York Times. The 15-inch-high cat, well known to museum-goers who believed it to be a coffin for a mummified cat, has stood for about 25 years in the Metropolitan’s Egyptian Wing. Museum officials told the paper that the sleek feline, sitting erect with its ears perked up and its tail curled around its feet is “in all probability a modern forgery.” “Careful technical examination seems to point to modern manufacture,” said the museum’s director, Philippe de Montebello. “At this stage, there is enough doubt that we don’t think any purpose is served by putting it on display and calling it ancient.”