under my paw

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf, www.artic.edu

You can barely see the mouse under this feline's golden paw, but those who know cats will know that look of open-mouthed triumph.  It's as if the cat was savoring the scent of victory.  When I tell you that this jewel was crafted in Baroque Spain (c. 1575-1625), when that nation was still the leading world power and at a high point of its culture, you can see this cat had something most delicious to symbolize. 
This piece has seen some changes in its time, most readily apparent in its ears.  See the holes?  It had earrings once.  If you'd like to do some art-historical-type digging into the life of this piece, find this:
 -- Ian Wardropper et al, "Renaissance Jewelry in the Alsdorf Collection," The Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 25, 2 (2000), p. 69 and 96, no. 32.  I have a link here, all text.