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The Gayer-Anderson Cat

• Object type

  • figure

• Museum number

  EA64391

• Title (object)

  • The Gayer-Anderson Cat

• Description

  Hollow-cast bronze figure of a seated cat with incised detail, an inlaid silver sun-disc and wedjat-eye pectoral on the chest and golden earrings and nose-rings; tangs beneath.

• Culture/period

  • Late Period

• Findspot

  • Excavated/Findspot: Saqqara (?)
  • (Africa,Egypt,Lower Egypt,Saqqara (Memphis))

• Materials

  • silver
  • gold
  • bronze

• Technique

  • inlaid
  • incised
  • hollow-cast

• Dimensions

  • Height: 42 centimetres (With base)
  • Width: 14 centimetres (Without base)
  • Weight: 7.8 kilograms (Without base)
  • Weight: 10.8 kilograms (With base)
  • Width: 20 centimetres (With base)
  • Height: 34 centimetres (Without base, but not including tang)
  • Depth: 30.5 centimetres (With base)
  • Depth: 23 centimetres (Without base)

• Curator's comments

  Acquisition of figure referred to in Gayer-Anderson's unpublished autobiography.
  Published :
  N. Spencer, The Gayer-Anderson Cat (Objects in Focus), 2007.

  J. Rawson, Animals in art, 1977, p.53
  T.G.H James, Ancient Egypt, land and legacy, 1988, fig. 11.
  J. Clutton-Brok, The BM Book of cats, 1988, p. 32.
  BM Ancient Egyptian Art-postcards in full color, 1991, fig. 5.
  S. Schoske, D. Wildung, Gott und Gotter im Alten Agypten, Mainz 1992, p. 152, No 4.
  R.H. Wilkinson, Reading Egyptian Art, 1992, p. 62, fig. 2.
  S. Quirke, J. Spencer, The BM Book of Ancient Egypt, 1992, fig. 31.
  A. Ganeri, Focus on Ancient Egyptians, 1993, p. 17 (children).
  I. Shaw, P. Nicholson, BM dictionary of Ancient Egypt,1995, p. 62.
  Cats, BM Pocket Treasury, BMP, 1996, p. 9.
  BM Pocket Treasury, 1996, p. 49.
  N. Strudwick, Masterpieces of Ancient Egypt, London 2006, pp. 290-1.

  More 

• Bibliography

  • Shaw & Nicholson 1995 p63
  • Strudwick 2006 pp.290-291

• Location

  On display: G4/B10

• Exhibition history

  Exhibited:

  1977 London, BM, Animals in Art
  2007 Nov-2008 Jan, BM, Room 3, Divine Cat: Speaking to the gods in ancient Egypt
  2009 Mar-May, Brent Museum, The Divine Cat
  2012 23 March - 23 July, Musee Jaquemart Andre, Paris, Le Crepuscule des Pharaons
  2012 8 Sept - 9 Dec, Lerwick, Shetland Museum and Archives, Spotlight loan

• Condition

  Good

• Subjects

  • cat
  • eye of horus

• Acquisition name

  • Donated by: Maj Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson

• Acquisition date

  1939

• Acquisition notes

  The register entry states: "[Whole 1947, 7-10 collection] Presented by R.G. John Gayer Anderson and Mary Stout 1939. The cat to be to exhibited with a small plaque inscribed ' "The Gayer Anderson Cat" a gift to the Brit. Mus. from and in memory of Major J.G. Gayer Anderson Bey and Mrs Percy Stout'. For further details on the bequest see correspondence in Gayer Anderson file." The J.G. may be in error for T.G.

• Department

  Ancient Egypt & Sudan

• BM/Big number

  EA64391

• Registration number

  1947,1011.1