Toffee on Chinoiserie Silk

The cat has been revered in China for centuries, associated as it is with guarding stored crops from mice and rats. The idea of the cat being a guardian extended to temples where cats, in the form of lions, guarded the entrance.

In this painting we see the sleeping cat god, Li Shou, surrounded by Heavenly Bamboo and Chinese Temples, ready to guard home and family and protect the crops.