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The
'Gayer-Anderson
Cat',
Bronze
dating
to
the
Late
Period,
c.664-332
BC,
British
Museum.
This
fine
representation
of
the
cat-goddess
Bastet
was
placed
as
an
offering
by
a
wealthy
official,
possibly
at
the
principal
cult
centre
of
Bastet
at
Bubastis
in
the
northeast
Nile
Delta.
Catacombs
beneath
the
site
have
yielded
hundreds
of
mummified
cats.
The
cat
wears
jewellery
and
a
protective
Ujedjat
amulet.
A
winged
scarab
appears
on
the
chest
and
another
scarab
on
the
head.
The
eyes
were
originally
inlaid
with
precious
stone,
now
lost.
The
figure
was
probably
tan-coloured
when
made.
Its
current
dark
green
bronze
colour
is
a
result
of
polishing
in
modern
times.
The
statue
is
the
most
famous
of
Robert
Gayer-Anderson's
(1881-1915)
collection
of
oriental
art
and
pharaonic
antiquities
-
from
the
1920s,
he
lived
in
a
16th
century
house
in
the
centre
of
Islamic
Cairo,
which
is
now
open
to
the
public
as
the
Gayer-Anderson
House.
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