golden glimpse of Marc Quinn's sculpture of Kate Moss

She's been immortalised in bronze, painted in oils and photographed all over the world.

Now Kate Moss - fashion icon, mother and long time paparazzi favorite - has been paid the kind of compliment normally reserved for Egyptian queens and mythological goddesses. She has been sculpted in gold.

A new statue of the controversial model is to unveiled at the British museum for an exhibition in October.

A golden glimpse of Marc Quinn's sculpture of Kate Moss

The 34-year-old will join some of the nation's other great treasures, including a centuries old statue of a naked Aphrodite, on loan from the Queen.

This is the first teasing glimpse of the £1.5million likeness of Kate, one of a series by Marc Quinn, the artist responsible for the 'Alison Lapper Pregnant' sculpture that adorned the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square for 20 months.

The museum released only a detail of the Kate Moss work in the hope that the full image could remain private until its unveiling.

The statue, entitled 'Siren', depicts her in a yoga contortion. If it follows the theme of his previous Kate Moss works, it will place her feet somewhere near her ears and leave various other bits of her leotard-clad body inelegantly exposed to public gaze.

Model inspiration: Kate Moss was also captured in a yoga pose in plaster

The statue is said to be the largest of its kind since ancient Egyptian times. It is fashioned from solid gold. But because the statue is hollow, it weighs only 50 kilograms (110 lb) - possibly a little more than the waif-like subject on which it is modeled.

The £1.5million estimated value is believed to relate only to fabrication costs, financed between the artist and his gallery, White Cube. But the sculpture is certain to be worth far more if it is ever sold.

Moss has already proved irresistible to a succession of artists, including Lucian Freud, whose nude portrait of her sold for £3.9million in 2005.

Two years ago Quinn exhibited a painted bronze statue of Moss with her legs and arms knotted above her head. (Kate didn't do the yoga pose herself, incidentally - it was performed by a stand-in and her features were sculpted in later).

Quinn expressed a fascination with the 'mystery' of someone who had captured 'the spirit of the age', as he phrased it.

He believed her difficulties with the law - she escaped charges despite being videoed snorting a white powdered substance - made her image 'more potent'.

Yesterday the Croydon-born star - whose curves were on full display in Quinn's previous works and left precious little mystery for the spectator - appeared in an unconnected series of raunchy poses for a magazine photo-shoot.

She was quoted as saying she adores boobs and thinks breast implants sported by some of her friends are 'awful'.

The statue is to go on show at the British Museum from October 4 to January 25 as part of its 'Statuephilia' exhibition. The display is designed 'to highlight the perennial potency of sculpture' by showcasing the work of contemporary British artists, including Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley.