The body of the cat is incised with markings and covered in a thin Yue celadon glaze; the eyes detailed in copper green and manganese brown. 42cm.
It appears in the Burghley Inventory of 1763: ‘the North Dressing room ….a china cat.’
Kyoto, or Kyō ware, is a type of pottery traditionally made in Kyoto, where pottery has been made since the 5th Century.
It is in an area where the clay needed to make porcelain was not easily available at the time and so, as porcelain production gained momentum elsewhere in Japan in the 17th Century, the Kyoto potters developed new ideas and forms to maintain their output.
