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Bronze Cat Sculpture: Playing Cat by Sue Maclaurin

Bronze Cat Sculpture: Playing Cat by Sue Maclaurin

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Only 5 left in stock

Including VAT: $278.68 Excluding VAT: $232.24

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Will be dispatched on: Monday 6th January

This WILL NOT arrive in time for Christmas (UK & Overseas).
We are currently on our Christmas break. Place your order now and it will be dispatched on Monday 6th January.

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Size in cm: 12w x 5h x 6d cm
Size in inches: 4¾"w x 2"h x 2½"d
Weight: 430g / 15oz

Edition: 250
Material: Foundry Cast Bronze

We are delighted to introduce the newest addition to Sue Maclaurin’s ever popular collection of cat sculptures: the utterly gorgeous Playing Cat.

This delightful new piece captures a gorgeous cat mid wriggle, in the throes of some enthusiastic play rolling: in the exact moment he looks at his person and decides exactly what to do next – to bat an ankle, to not bat an ankle, to leap up onto all fours and scoot off behind the sofa or to pretend that it all never happened and to leisurely wash a hind leg instead.

Playing Cat is a solid bronze casting of Sue Maclaurin’s original sculpture. We cast it as a limited edition of just 250 castings worldwide and individually mark each casting with its own unique edition number.

This sculpture is cast in Britain using the ancient art of Lost Wax casting bronze. The process takes several weeks to complete for each casting that is created and it is entirely carried out by hand.

Playing Cat arrives beautifully presented in a handmade gift box, accompanied by a numbered certificate, hand signed by the artist, Sue Maclaurin. The sculpture itself bears the artist’s signature and our ‘NF’ maker’s mark.

The perfect gift for any cat lover in your life, or an indulgent treat for yourself!

Born in Colchester, Sue Maclaurin emigrated to Northern Rhodesia with her family, where a life-long passion for wildlife and horses began.

Her childhood was spent, when not at boarding school, roaming freely in the bush on horseback, revelling in the diversity of wildlife which still existed at that time.

Returning to England to study at Winchester School of Art, Sue graduated with a B.A (Hons.) in Fine Art and subsequently spent several years involved with Marwell Zoological Park, where she continued to study, paint and sculpt their wide variety of animals at very close quarters. While she was there, Sue was commissioned to create the art work and logo for Marwell Park’s advertising.

During these few years, Sue further explored and develop her interest in sculpting at Pinewood Studios as she was asked by Ray Harryhausen to assist him model making on various films including Clash of the Titans.

An opportunity then arose for Sue to return to Africa with her family, and the following four years were filled happily with the pursuit of varied projects including gold-mining frontier style, fish farming and dairy farming, while Sue continued to sculpt and paint for her own pleasure.

Whilst Africa and its wildlife were ‘utterly beautiful’, it unfortunately became too politically unstable, so Sue’s family once again returned home to England. Her wildlife sculpture was quickly accepted by galleries across the United Kingdom and quickly developed a loyal following of collectors.

A white house in the Wiltshire countryside is now home, with two Siamese cats, two horses, a thriving sculpture studio and a saddlery business that means Sue’s skills as a Master Saddle Maker command a constant waiting list. Sue continues to sculpt both the wildlife that surrounds her home daily as well as other traditional animals such as pigs and thoroughly enjoys hearing stories of the joy that the bronze castings of her pieces bring to collectors.

Creation of your bronze sculpture

Every time we cast a piece, a new mould is created and subsequently destroyed. This means that every single piece of sculpture bought from us is entirely hand made and utterly unique, which is why it is numbered by hand to tell you which casting of the edition you have bought.

1. Mould Making

A silicone rubber mould is made of the original art work. Absolutely every detail captured or missed by this mould will be reproduced in the bronze castings. Depending on the size of the mould, it may then be cut into sections for casting.

This is the master mould used to originate all castings of that piece. Each time that piece is ordered, we follow the following procedure:

2. Making the Wax Casting

Molten wax is poured into the rubber to create an exact wax duplicate of the original model.

3. Chasing the Wax

The wax is removed from the rubber mould any flaws are hand finished by a skilled craftsman.

4. Spruing

Wax rods and a wax pouring cup are carefully attached to the wax casting in just the right positions to allow bronze to be poured in any displaced air to escape. This means that no air bubbles are trapped inside the mould as they would be gaps in the finished bronze piece.

5. Investment

The wax model with attached rods is now covered in ceramic material which will form the mould for the final bronze pour. This is done by dipping the wax model carefully into investment liquid and then covering it in a fine powder before allowing it to cure (completely dry). The model is then dipped into investment liquid again and given a coating of a coarse ceramic powder. By following this procedure several times, a ceramic shell is built up around the wax model.

6. Burn-Out

The wax inside the ceramic shell is then placed in a kiln and fired. The shell bakes and the wax is melted (lost) from the shell. This creates a hollow ceramic shell mould and accounts for the term "Lost Wax" being applied to the process.

7. Casting

The ceramic mould is removed from the kiln and molten bronze is immediately poured into it, at 1200°C.

8. Break Out

Once the casting has been allowed to cool for several hours, the mould is carefully removed by hand from the bronze model inside.

9. Sandblasting

Any fragments of the ceramic shell are removed by sandblasting and the sculpture is carefully inspected at this point.

10. Assembly

All attached rods and cups (which are now bronze) are removed by hand. At this point, any segments of a large sculpture that has been cast in sections are welded together.

11.Chasing

All the weld marks and removed and rod marks are chased and re-detailed by hand. Any scars left by the rods are carefully blended to match the rest of the sculpture’s surface as intended by the artist.

12. Polishing

The bronze is hand polished in preparation for the patina.

13. Patination

The bronze is first heated before the chemical patina is applied by an artist. A patina can achieve many different colours or effects depending on the mix of chemicals used.

14. Waxing

Finally a wax coating is hand applied before the piece is polished to ensure a beautiful lustrous patina.

15. Numbering

Finally, the piece is numbered by hand. It is numbered as the casting number, followed by a slash and finally the edition size. For examples, 5/250 means that your piece was the fifth piece to be cast from the master mould out of 250 castings made. The piece also bears the signature of the artist. Sue Maclaurin pieces are marked either Sue Maclaurin, Sue Mac, or with her insignia of an S and small cat face.

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All in stock items are dispatched the working day after we receive your order. Out of stock items will be dispatched on the date shown on the listing.

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UK deliveries are shipped by DPD Local, who will send a one hour window to your mobile or email on the morning of delivery so you don’t have to wait around for your parcel.

We use a next working day service as standard (NI, Highlands and Islands take two working days). If you choose and pay for a Saturday or Sunday delivery when you check out (and order before 6am on a Friday), your order will arrive with you the first Saturday or Sunday after you place your order. If you order after 6am on Friday, your order will arrive one weekend later.

If you are in a rush, or need any special arrangements, please call us on 01442 256290 and we will be delighted to help.

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We use an express service that will be delivered on a weekday. Deliveries to Europe, the USA and Canada typically take 2 -3 working days, with other destinations taking 3 – 5 working days.

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For full details please see USA Shipping / International Shipping

Reviews

Customer Reviews 8 item(s)

Lovely!

Overall Satisfaction

Just lovely! This will be a gift, am sure it will be loved. Review by Carolyn (USA) / (Posted on 09/07/2023)

A very special birthday gift!

Overall Satisfaction

The cat sculpture was a gift for my sister. It was her 60th birthday, so I wanted something really special that she would treasure. She’s a cat person, she has (3), needless to say she was very pleased. In fact, just yesterday she sent me a pic of her cat Abbey doing the pose of the sculpture! It was almost like she was the inspiration for the piece…

Review by Carmen / (Posted on 01/11/2021)

Cats

Overall Satisfaction

Since buying the sitting cat I have also purchased the Playing Cat. These sculptures are both a source of joy and appreciation for me. Joy at having works of art of a size that I can place them for viewing every day and appreciation of the artistic and foundry skill evidenced by each. I hope to be able to obtain additional pieces late Review by Craig (USA) / (Posted on 06/11/2020)

Adorable

Overall Satisfaction

Adorable and very realistic cat.
Reminds me strongly of my old cat Teddy who loves to play lying on her back with wand toys or to be stroked.
Very nice quality and matches well with the sitting cat previously purchased. Review by Sarah / (Posted on 26/04/2020)

Brilliant!

Overall Satisfaction

Bought Sue Maclaurin’s cat sculpture for my wife. We have owned cats throughout our long married life, and this sculpture beautifully captures a position we have seen our cats assume many, many times. Personally, I’ve never seen the essence of a playful cat captured more accurately. Really glad I bought it. Review by Andy Collins / (Posted on 23/01/2019)

Cat sculpture

Overall Satisfaction

This was a Christmas present for my wife who was delighted with it. We now are the proud owners of three pieces by this same artist. Review by J. Malcolm / (Posted on 22/01/2019)

I am thrilled

Overall Satisfaction

Dear Deborah,
I just want to say what a pleasure it was to speak to you today when i placed my additional order.
I am thrilled with my cat and look forward to receiving my other two!
You have a wonderful business- so pleased I saw you in the Telegraph!

Review by Dame Rachael / (Posted on 11/10/2018)

Playing Cat Sculpture

Overall Satisfaction

This was a birthday present for my other half and in its pose is the image our daughters cat Percy.
It has now taken pride of place alongside another Nelson and Forbes cat Sculpture
The Sculptures are excellent Review by David / (Posted on 26/08/2018)