Chapter 322 Gayer-Anderson Cat

Because the store was relatively dark, Xiaoxue didn't pay attention to the left and right after entering from the outside, until her eyes got used to the light, and when she wanted to leave, she found a strange-looking cat squatting in the corner of the store entrance.

This cat has a strong body and a meticulous squatting posture. Due to the light, its fur seems to be pure black, but some parts of its body are faintly glowing golden yellow, as if squatting in the shadows and staring at her. .

"Hehe, the little guest wasn't scared, right?" The old man came from behind and laughed loudly, "I'm really sorry, I was planning to deal with it in a few days, but I didn't expect to scare the little guest, it's really a sin. "

Xiaoxue was really a little frightened, her face paled with fright, mainly because the cat looked a little weird and appeared too abruptly, but when she took a closer look, it turned out that it wasn't a real cat, it was just a statue of a cat. It's just that the vivid carving process and the lack of light caused her to misunderstand.

"Um, can I have a look?" After she calmed down for a while, she became curious and asked, pointing at the statue.

"Guests please feel free." The old man approached slightly and made a "please" gesture, "But this statue has not been cleaned for a long time, so be careful not to stain the clothes of the guests."

Xiaoxue got permission, and boldly walked over to observe the cat statue from a close distance.

It was placed alone in a dark corner behind the vermilion lacquer gate. Compared with other things in the store, it seemed to have a low status, as if it was rejected by the owner. However, I don't know if it is due to psychological reasons, but Xiaoxue feels that it has a stubborn expression, as if it doesn't care about the situation where it is left out.

When we get closer, even with Xiaoxue's not so rich appreciation knowledge, he can see that this cat statue has an obvious exotic style, which is very different from domestic statues. Although it is just a statue, it looks like a real cat in size, and its posture is lifelike, so it is easy to mistake it in dim light.

A golden nose ring hangs on the tip of its nose, and golden earrings hang in its earholes. Apart from that, it is all glowing with the unique copper green of bronze. According to common sense, any statue made of bronze has no One exception has a very old history.

If you look closely, the patina is uneven, some places are darker, others are lighter, it seems to be mottled after years of wind, sun, and rain, or it seems to be eroded after being buried in the ground for a long time.

The facial lines of this cat are very soft, it can even be said to be feminine, and the eye sockets are charming and moving. No one would think that this is a male cat. What is particularly striking is that it has a beetle embossed on its forehead. Correspondingly, it has a chest and another larger beetle with wings spread, which is commonly known as the dung beetle. However, as a statue, there is no disgusting feeling.

It wears a necklace with intricate lines on its neck... or a neck ornament, a collar. In the center of the neck ornament is a nameplate of unknown meaning. The neck ornament and nameplate are also carved, and they are integrated with the cat statue.

Xiao Xuexiu frowned, staring at the face of the cat statue in a daze. She always felt that she had seen the expression of this statue before... Due to the relatively primitive casting and carving techniques, it was impossible to accurately outline the hair and fur color. A hairless cat, so she couldn't remember it for a while.

When her eyes fell on the beetle relief on its forehead again, her eyes lit up immediately, and she let out a low sound!

Isn't this very similar to the golden cat in Qiyuan Pet Shop? The golden cat also has beetle-like lines on its forehead! Having figured this out, she looked at its face and posture again, and the more she looked at it, the more she felt that it was exactly the same as the golden cat, but it was not as beautiful as the golden cat. If the hair of the golden cat was cut very short, it would probably look like this statue, even the arrogant posture is the same!

The old man came from behind her, and when he heard her scream, his face showed a look of surprise, and he couldn't help asking: "Does the little guest like this cat statue?"

Xiaoxue nodded, the fright she had just received had long been forgotten.

Pointing to the statue's face, she said, "It's very beautiful and very temperamental."

The old man stroked his goatee and said with a smile: "The little guest has really good eyesight!"

Xiaoxue was very happy to be praised, although she didn't know why she was praised.

The old man stood the feather duster against the wall, went behind the door, and pushed the cat statue out. It was only then that Xiaoxue discovered that the cat statue was placed on a special small shelf, with four wheels under the shelf, no wonder it was so easy to push... You must know that the statue looks like it was made of pure bronze, if it wasn't hollow , that weight is really not light.

Coming from a dim corner to normal light, the patina of the cat statue was more obvious, and the details were also visible. At first, she thought that the pure black was just a misunderstanding.

"Little guest, do you know the origin of this cat statue?" The old man patted the dust on his hands, and picked up a feather duster to dust off some of the dust on the statue.

Xiaoxue rolled her eyes and replied flatteringly: "Foreign ones?"

"Heh, it's indeed from a foreign country!" The old man clapped his hands and laughed, and Xiaoxue laughed along with embarrassment.

When the laughter stopped, the old man let out a breath and said, "It's been a long time since I laughed so heartily. It's really good to get along with young people."

"Hey, I'm stupid." Xiaoxue patted herself on the head and laughed at herself, "I'm terrible at studying, and I can't do other jobs well..."

"It's not that you're stupid, it's that you have no plans, and you still have the heart of a child." The old man paused, stroked the forehead of the cat statue with his empty hand, and said, "If you want to tell its origin...you listen Did you say gayer-andet?"

"No." Xiaoxue didn't dare to joke any more, and listened attentively. It would seem a little reckless to joke when someone was talking seriously.

The old man calmed down and said in a serious manner: "The original version of this statue of the cat god was unearthed in Egypt, and it was cast from about 600 BC to 300 BC. It was donated to the British Museum by Major Gayer-Andeon. name. There is also a replica in the collection of the gayer-andeon museum in Cairo. As for me..."

He pondered over his words, "This one of mine is also a replica, of course it's not as good as the one in the gayer-andeon museum, but I dare say it's pretty close to the original."

"Wow! It's amazing!" Xiaoxue exclaimed, and she felt that the cat statue was extraordinary, so it had such a big background. Although it was only a replica, it looked no different from the real antiques to her. Even if it was not as valuable as the original, it was not something ordinary people could easily get.

The old man pointed to the chest of the cat god statue. Xiaoxue thought it was the nameplate, "Do you know what this is?"

"Let me take a look." Xiaoxue moved closer and looked at it carefully.

The old man waited calmly for her answer.

After tens of seconds, Xiaoxue shook her head blankly, "I don't know, I can't recognize what it is. It looks like a snake? Or something like eyes?"

Expecting that she would not recognize her, the old man explained indifferently: "It's normal not to recognize it, after all, it is too rare. This is a Vajit amulet, which represents the bright eye in ancient Egyptian mythology. This amulet and nose ring and earrings, all made of silver and gold as the originals."

Xiaoxue couldn't stop talking secretly when she heard that, this old man is indeed a real local tyrant who hides in the city, every thing in the store is a 100% replica of the statue of the cat god...

The old man looked at his words and asked, "If my little guest likes this statue, how about buying it?"

"what?"

Xiaoxue was startled, and looked at the statue again.

She really likes it, but not so much that she has to buy it. There are two other reasons. One is that the statue must be expensive, and she may not be able to afford it, and she doesn't want to go to any lengths to buy it. The second is that there is no place to put it after buying it. If I bring it home, my mother will not agree to it... This statue is beautiful, but it has a bit of yin, not everyone can accept this kind of statue. The feminine beauty of the girl, and the old-fashioned father... It gives me a headache to think about it!

Uncle Jin might be interested, but considering the psychological shadow of the idiot, let's forget it.

Speaking of...

Xiaoxue thought that the Qiyuan Pet Store was about to reopen. She went to the store several times to cause trouble, and she and Zhang Zian were considered friends, so she had to bring some opening gifts this time, otherwise it would be too rude. If you can What better gift than this statue! 8)