The sculpture wears a silver protective pectoral and golden earrings and nose ring. Turner and Bateson suggest that the status of the cat was roughly equivalent to that of the cow in modern India. Read our cookie policy. She was associated with the Eye of Ra, acting within the sun god's power. The sculpture is known as the Gayer-Anderson cat after Major Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson. Only the king or someone very wealthy could have afforded to commission an example as fine as this cat, adorned with precious metals. She was also the goddess of sunrise, music, dance, pleasure, as well as family, fertility and birth. The regal and highly decorated bronze statue wears gold earrings and a gold nose ring. Fuji Wave Tote Bag Dec 15, 2013 - The cat first appears in painting and relief at the end of the Old Kingdom, and this cosmetic jar is the earliest-known three-dimensional representation of the animal in Egyptian art. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. For more information on how we use cookies and how to manage cookies, please follow the 'Read more' link, otherwise select 'Accept and close'. Exclusive to the British Museum: a metal bookmark inspired by the famous Gayer-Anderson cat. 10"H x 6"W x 4"D. Weighs 4.4 lbs. Oct 24, 2013 - Gayer-Anderson Cat, The British Museum From Saqqara, Egypt, Late Period, after 600 BC.Ht 42 cm. Her silver breastplate is decorated with the sacred eye of the god Horus, beneath which is an ornamental scarab and silvered disc. A beautiful gift for eco-friendly Egyptologists. See more ideas about Ancient, Ancient art, Egyptian cats. Prior to Champollion, the Muséum Central des Arts exhibited Egyptian statues from the former royal collections. The cat wears … The Gayer-Anderson Cat is a sacred temple cat sculpture from the Late Period of ancient Egypt. Cats were also popular because they kept granaries and the home free of mice, rats and snakes. Item # 06008437. The bronze original dates from around 664-30 BC and is shown in the classic seated position. He showcased these in his home in Cairo, now known as the Gayer-Anderson Museum. Oct 5, 2013 - The Ancient Egyptians are well known for their innovative everyday lives and their famously extravagant death rituals. Jan 16, 2013 - This Pin was discovered by Cynthia Arsuaga. A wonderful history-inspired gift. The cat was then covered in green paint, which disguised many of the changes until it was X-rayed. He showcased these in his home in Cairo, now known as the Gayer-Anderson Museum. In the 1820s, the Louvre Museum exhibited cat statues made of wood, bronze, and enameled pottery that originated mostly in Bubastis. Bastet was a mother goddess and benign counterpart to the more aggressive lion goddess Sekhmet. In parts of Egypt, cats were bred in large numbers, so that worshippers of Bastet could show their devotion to the goddess by paying for a cat's ceremonial burial. The other two members of the triad were Ptah’s wife, the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, and the god Nefertem, who may have been the couple’s son. Description. made from resin with finely crafted bronze finish Part of the highly collectible Parastone Mouseion 3D Collection of museum replicas. Cat figures are also prominent in collections of Egyptian bronzes. A miniature bronze replica of the cat goddess Bastet, based an original in the British Museum. The statue is a representation of the female cat deity Bastet.

The cat wears has a basket-shaped amulet and counterpoise incised around the neck .The earrings have been added to the piece in a similar style to those that would have been on the original. Our reproduction, which is based on an Egyptian sculpture of the Ptolemaic period (332–30 B.C. Bastet, the cat goddess, is an example of one such deity. The Gayer-Anderson cat is a bronze figure depicting one form of the goddess Bastet. [31] In 1830, Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg accounted of having observed three different small cat forms in Egypt: the jungle cat, the African wildcat, and a sacred cat that was intermediate in size between the jungle cat and the domestic cat. Sphinxes represent the immense power of the Egyptian and Kushite king. Some of the British Museum's best-known collection items come from Egypt, each with their own unique story. Mysterious and unpredictable, … Discover (and save!) The cat dates from the Late Period of ancient Egypt around 600 BC. He kept a copy for his museum in Cairo, but donated the original to the British Museum, which you can see in the Egyptian sculpture gallery in Room 4. More than 300,000 mummified cats were discovered when Bastet's temple was excavated. As Marcel Marée, curator for the Egyptian sculpture gallery at the British Museum, said “This cat figure is among the very finest surviving from ancient Egypt, and justly regarded as one of the British Museum’s greatest masterpieces.” It is a bronze statue representing the goddess Bastet in her cat form adorated with golden earrings. Egyptian Cat Statue, Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. Look especially for the birthday party invitation from Claudia Severa to Sulpicia Lepidina, pictured here. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. The cat dates from the Late Period of ancient Egypt around 600 BC. Cats were highly revered in ancient Egypt and were often found in temples as Bastet’s representative. Sacred Cats in Ancient Egypt: Cat Mummies at the British Museum, London, UK. Some tomb paintings show cats sitting by their owners, sometimes with food nearby.

Bastet was so highly regarded by the Egyptians that she became a household goddess and protector of women, children and domestic cats. In ancient Egypt, cats were highly valued as pets but also acquired religious significance. Small Egyptian Cat Sculpture. A Museum Perspective. The cat wears jewellery and a … Member Price: 31.5 $31.50 Qty. The most impressive example of a medieval ship burial in Europe. The donors of the statues hoped to communicate with the gods. Discover (and save!) Reproduction of an ancient Egyptian Cat Statue, named the Gayer-Anderson Cat after the collector, after an original in the British Museum, London. While the … The goddess was usually shown as a cat-headed woman, or in the form of a cat. The Egyptian sculpture gallery's unique atmosphere provides a truly memorable space. See more objects from Egypt in the Egyptian sculpture gallery. Wide, and enameled pottery that originated mostly in Bubastis choice, 100+ million high quality affordable... 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