A SHIWAN 'CAT' NIGHT-LIGHTMid Qing Dynasty The feline expertly moulded crouching with its paws tucked beneath its round body, the head turned to its right with ears pricked and eyes alert, the ridge of the back curving and terminating with a long tail sweeping across its right back haunch, covered in a lustrous blue and purple glaze thinning to a mushroom-grey tone at the extremities. 18.5cm (7 1/4in) wide. 清中期 石灣窯貓形燈罩 Shiwan ware was produced in the Shiwanzhen, Guangdong. Cat nightlights were made from the late Ming period. According to Chinese lore, the gods appointed cats to oversee life after the world was created. Cats preferred instead to sleep in sunbeams and play with falling cherry blossoms. The management of earthly duties was thus transferred to humans, and cats have since indulged themselves in the more relaxing aspects of life. Many other myths surround the cat in Chinese culture. Some insist that cats can see spirits in the dark, which may explain the prevalence of cat-shaped night-lights during the latter part of the Ming dynasty. pare with a related blue and white catlight, 18th or 19th century, from the Museum of San Francisco, CA, acc.no.L2018.0601.006. For a Ming dynasty prototype, see a blue and white catlight recovered from the Hatcher wreck, circa 1643, in the British Museum, London (acc.no.BM 1984.0303.11).