Vintage Japanese Sleeping Neko Cat Gold Gilt Porcelain Figurine

Kutani Style 5 1/2" Long Sleeping Cat This decorative cat would look great sitting on a shelf, desk or on a stack of books. Every home needs a cuddly cat living there. He is porcelain and is made in the style of Kutani. He is approximately 5 1/2" long. The sleeping cat's colors are very vivid and the detail is beautiful. In vintage condition with no cracks, cuts or breaks. The Story of the Sleeping Neko In Nikko, at the entrance to the Okusha Inner Shrine, the tomb of Ieyasu Tokugawa from the Toshougu Shrine, you’ll find a small sculpture designated as national treasure. Named in Japanese Nemuri neko 「眠猫」 - nemuri means “sleeping” but also “peaceful” and neko means “cat", the sculpture is widely known as the “Sleeping cat", but the other translation has a more powerful meaning: because on the other side of the gate there is another sculpture representing a sparrow, it is said that the sparrow will be eaten when the cat will wake-up. But the “peaceful” interpretation says that the two animals coexisting signifies that the chaos has disappeared and that there is peace in the world.