Divine Cat: Speaking to the gods in ancient Egypt
8 November 2007 – 27 January 2008
Room 3
Exhibition closed
This display uses both ancient sources
and scientific analyses to explore a unique and intriguing
bronze statue from ancient Egypt: the Gayer-Anderson Cat. It shows
that there is often more than one way of looking at a museum
object.
Bronze statues such as this cat were used in
ancient Egypt to communicate with the
gods. Inscriptions surviving upon some of these
statues reveal the different types of requests made to the gods by
the person dedicating the statue. Donors sought a long life, good
health, and other such wishes through leaving the statue in a
temple.
In 2007, scientific research carried out at
the British Museum revealed new and surprising information about
the statue including how it was made, and also how the
original owner in modern times, Major Gayer-Anderson, repaired and
modified the cat.