New Year Print: A Cat Catching a Mouse

Chinese

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper; with printed inscription of a poem reading from right to left: "Ci mao shenshi mengyong/ Liangyan qiasi (ling?) long/ Si zhua youru gangcha/ Laoshu bu gan cheng xiong" ("This cat is so fierce/ Two eyes are like gems/ Four claws are like steel sickles/ Rats dare not show off"), and a color printed inscription in purple: "Chi Ling" ("Imperial Edict"). Probably from Jiajiang, Sichuan.

Qing dynasty, 1644-1911