Skip to main content

Cat: C.801-1928

An image of Animal figure
View image details

Terms of use

The low-resolution images published on this Website are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY-NC-ND). For more details: Fitzwilliam Terms of Use

This licence does not include any images of works that are still in copyright. Artistic copyright extends from the life of the artist to 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the artist died.

Download this image

For further information on use of images or to license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who can discuss terms and fees.

Alternative views

An image of Animal figure
Awaiting location update

Titles

Cat

Maker(s)

Factory: Unidentified Staffordshire factory

Entities

Categories

Description

Salt-glazed stoneware figure of a seated cat.

White stoneware press-moulded and salt-glazed. The figure is hollow and without a base. The seated cat has its face turned to the side and sits on an oval platform, which is decorated with a ring of dots. Small dashes mark the toes and claws of the cat and also appear on the back-leg, forehead and behind the ears of the cat.

Notes

History note: Provenance unidentified before bought by a porter at Puttick and Simpson's, known as “Mack”, on behalf of a client; when his client refused to pay, Mack sold for £8 with C.799-1928, on 8 October 1920 to Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest.

Measurements and weight

Height: 8.4 cm
Width: 5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

18th Century, Mid
George II
Circa 1745 CE - Circa 1755 CE

Note

Cats were the most common animal figure produced in stoneware by the Staffordshire potters.

Components of the work

Surface composed of salt-glaze

Materials used in production

White stoneware

Techniques used in production

Press-moulding : Press-moulded white stoneware covered in a salt-glaze; the face of the cat has several wavy cracks, probably sustained in the moulding or the firing process
Salt-glazing

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: stick-on rectangular white paper collector’s label

  • Text: No3793. White salt glaze seated cat. b. in London, Oct 8 1920.
  • Location: Inside the figure
  • Method of creation: Handwritten in black ink
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.801-1928
Primary reference Number: 76118
Old catalogue number: 3793

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 30 April 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Cat" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76118 Accessed: 2025-12-05 17:44:28

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76118 |title=Cat |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 17:44:28|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-76118

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa2/C_801_1928_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Cat"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Cat</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...

University of Cambridge Museums logo
Cambridge City Council logo
Arts Council England Logo
Research England logo