These adorable carnelian and gold cats on the ancient Egyptian bracelet are similar to elements of royal jewelry dating to the beginning of Dynasty 18. The cat was sacred to the goddess Bastet, the benign counterpart of Sakhmet who incorporated the fierceness of a lioness.
Since the bracelet was made of gold, carnelian and lapis lazuli, I wonder if the two missing cats on the outsides were made of lapis lazuli.
Material: Gold, carnelian, lapis-lazuli, turquoise glass
Date: New Kingdom, ca. 1479–1425 B.C., Reign of king Thutmose II ( ca. 1479–1425 B.C.)
Findspot: Upper Egypt, Thebes, Wadi Gabbanat el-Qurud, Wadi D, Tomb of the Three Foreign Wives of Thutmose III
Dimensions: L. 16.8 cm (6 5/8 in); W. 5.1 cm (2 in); Th. 2.2 cm (7/8 in); Cat Spacer: D. 5.2 cm (2 1/16 in.); W. 2.9 cm ( 1 1/8in.); Barrels L. 0.6-0.9 cm
Current Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, Object Number: 26.8.121a
Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1919–1922; Rogers Fund, 1922; Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1988 (1988.17i)
Link: https://www.metmuseum.org/de/art/collection/search/547552