A model who's worth her weight in gold (50kg, to be precise)

She has been the golden girl of the catwalk for years, but now Kate Moss has been given a £1.5m golden makeover.

A solid gold sculpture of the model, thought to be the world's largest gold statue built since the time of ancient Egypt, was given its first showing yesterday.

The metallic Moss, called Siren, is part of a display of contemporary art which will go on display at the British Museum from October.

The 50kg statue has been designed by the British artist Marc Quinn, creator of Alison Lapper Pregnant, which appeared on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth. The sculpture of the English artist, who was born without arms, appeared on the plinth for 20 months.

It is not the first time Quinn has featured Moss in his work. His 2006 sculpture, Sphinx, featured the supermodel in an eye-watering yoga position, with her ankles behind her ears.

"I thought the next thing to do would be to make a sculpture of the person who's the ideal beauty of the moment," he said. "But even Kate Moss doesn't live up to the image." His latest Kate Moss creation is part of a project called Statuephilia, which will run throughout several of the British Museum's galleries from 4 October until 25 January.

Other prominent British artists will also be featured. Damien Hirst will contribute a work called Cornucopia, made up of 200 plastic skulls. Antony Gormley's A Case for an Angel, a miniature version of the Angel of the North, will greet visitors as they enter the museum's front hall.

Visitors may be wowed by the £1.5m price tag for the golden version of Moss, but the sculpture is worth far less than the original. The supermodel is thought to have accumulated a personal fortune of around £45m.