Indian Temple Fragment Depicting Perched Cat

Yellow cat, red eyes, a dot on the forehead and not a care.

This temple fragment depicting perched cat is Jain, from Kutch District, Gujarat, India, and dates to the 18th century. It is carved & painted stone. The origins of Jainism are described as obscure, yet it carries a deep body of literature and doctrine, including artistic depictions of history, meditation, religious practice, ethics and cosmology. Crouching cat in low relief, head thrust forward from a pale block, with red-ringed eyes, a small mark between the brows and incised mane lines in grey. Butter yellow paint covers the body and flakes at the edges. It is 20 inches wide, 26 deep and 6.5 high.

A slab that clearly did not ask permission to be adorable.