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Washington, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Sunday, April 28, 2013

cat hirune

many thanks lacma. public domain
Hirune means siesta or nap in Japanese.  (At least that's what I gather from the internet. Corrections happily accepted.)  This ivory cat, carved as a netsuke in the mid to late 19th century by Kaigyokusai (1813-1892), has been napping for over a hundred years.  That's a good siesta for any kitty.
Kaigyokusai had a way of smoothing his subjects into a soothing plumpness - see this bear enjoying a honey treat, or this wild boar - and I bet the luminous finish of this netsuke comes from years of being tucked into its owner's hand.  I would have hold of it all the time if it were mine.

4 comments:

kaslkaos said...

That is the sweetest kitty art I've seen, and beautiful and elegant too. Thanks for posting.

A few Good Cats said...

We would have kept such a pretty item very close by, too.

Katnip Lounge said...

LOVE the whiskers!

curator said...

I'm glad everyone enjoys this tubby treasure as much as I do!