This enamel pin features a turquoise cat on a cushion, drawing inspiration from a figurine on view in the Getty’s Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection known as Purrquoise.
- Dimensions: 1 3/4 inches L x 1 1/2 inches W
- Material: Enamel, nickel, 2 metal butterfly attachments
- Made in the USA
- Item #: CAT-PIN
This turquoise-glazed Chinese porcelain cat, seated with its tail curled against its thigh, reflects forms seen in eighteenth-century figures like chimeras and guardian lions. A hole near the spine suggests it once held incense, placed beneath the base before a cushion was added. Made in early eighteenth-century China for export, it was later adorned in France with gilded bronze mounts, glass eyes, and a low stool with a richly decorated cushion. Owned by the Marquise de Pompadour, it exemplifies the refined taste of elite European collectors.
Cat, porcelain about 1700–1750; mounts about 1750–1755
Unknown (French, 1848 - 1894)
Porcelain, glass, bronze
17 11/16 x 11 13/16 x 8 11/16 in.
J. Paul Getty Museum, 2024.127
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