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The gayer anderson cat

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Robert Greville Gayer-Anderson's own copy of the original 'Gayer-Anderson Cat', which is held by the British Museum.

Sudbury

Title

The Gayer-Anderson Cat

Medium

bronze,

Gayer-Anderson Cat

The Gayer-Anderson Cat, housed in the British Museum, London, is a slow period, ancient Egyptian bronze sculpture. Donated to the museum by Major Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson, this statue exemplifies Egypt's advanced bronze craftsmanship and reflects the profound respect ancient Egyptians held for cats.

Created approximately in the 7th century BC, it is a statue slightly above one foot in height, representing a seated feline, an animal exalted in Egyptian culture. Cats symbolized not only elegance and composure, but were also strongly linked to the goddess Bastet. Typically depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness or a national cat, Bastet was considered the guardian of the home, fertility, childbirth, and protector against malignant spirits.

The sculpture showcases fine detailing, such as the engraved necklace adorned with a wadjet-eye pendant—a symbol of protection and well-being—and earrings, indicating the divine standing of the cat. With the posture of attentiveness indicated by perked ears and eyes created from inlaid silver, the figure captures a realistic, almost living essence. Its superior preservation enables observers to fully recognize

Bastet, Gayer-Anderson Cat

The Gayer-Anderson Feline, housed at the British Museum, is a stunning representation of Bastet in her domestic cat shape, created during Egypt’s Behind Period, (c. 664–332 B.C.). This bronze statue was acquired in the preceding 20th century by Major Robert Gayer-Anderson, a British collector and Egyptologist, who purchased it in Cairo. Though its precise archaeological find spot is uncertain, stylistic analysis and historical context suggest a Memphite origin. Gayer-Anderson later donated the statue to the British Museum, where it has become one of the institution’s most iconic and beloved pieces.

The cat’s elegant posture, with its poised, upright head, slender body, and intricate detailing, reflects both the innate grace of real felines and the divine aura of Bastet. The eyes, inlaid with rock crystal and bronze, would hold gleamed in candlelight, strengthening the statue’s lifelike and otherworldly presence. Around its neck, the cat wears a broad collar with a beetle-shaped amulet (symbolising regeneration) and a silver Wedjat-eye amulet, reinforcing its protective symbolism.

Its purpose was more than ornamental, this cat was a votive object dedicated t

the gayer anderson cat

Divine Cat: Speaking to the Gods in Ancient Egypt

Shetland Museum and Archives is pleased to welcome the Gayer-Anderson Cat from the collection of the British Museum – on loan from 8th September until 9th December 2012.

The Feline is an Egyptian bronze statue, crafted around 600BC and gifted to the British Museum in 1939 by Robert Greville "John" Gayer-Anderson, a retired British Army Major and collector of ancient art.

Gayer-Anderson was an enthusiastic restorer of ancient metal objects, and recent x-rays carried out by the British Museum have identified repairs which he carried out in the 1930's. Scientific investigations undertaken in 2007 helped to identify that the cat was made from copper alloy with a silver necklace and gold rings. Research has indicated that the gold rings are not original but are most probably ancient.

In ancient Egypt wealthy individuals dedicated bronze statues in temples as a means of communicating with the gods. Thousands of such votive statues would accumulate in any one temple. Priests would regularly amass up the statues and bury them in specially prepared pits within the sacred grounds of the temple. This statue, perhaps of the goddess Bastet,

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