Purrquoise Speaks!
An exclusive, candid chat with Getty’s most famous cat
Cat (“Purrquoise”), porcelain about 1700–1750; mounts about 1750–1755, Chinese (cat); French (stool and cushion). Cat in porcelain with eyes in glass; cushion and stool in gilded bronze. Getty Museum
Body Content
Who is Purrquoise? You may know this 18th-century porcelain cat statuette, added to the Getty collection in 2024, as the fancy French feline with the blue-green shine; the globe-trotting, multilingual bon vivant; or the world-renowned dental model. But for Purrquoise, all that is surface. As you’ll soon learn, there’s so much more to this cat than that.
That’s one of the many reasons Purrquoise agreed to guest on If Objects Could Talk, the Getty original podcast that offers objects in the collection the chance to dig deep and tell their stories in their own words.
As the series begins its second season, we sat down with the podcast guest and ceramic sensation to discuss his episode, LA culture, and the perks and pitfalls of celebrity.
Nice to finally meet you.
Nice to finally be met! I appreciate you all driving out to the Center to meet me. Believe it or not, I don’t even have my learner’s permit. You plan to get it at 15 years old, then 150, then another 150 years pass and then Uber and Waymo are invented, then what’s the point?
Can you tell us a little about how you got involved with the podcast?
One day my agent casually mentioned that doing Objects would give me the exposure to help sell this screenplay about myself I’ve been shopping around town. As fate would have it, the podcast’s booker calls the following day. It was serendipitous, but much of my life has felt that way. My new buddies from the Getty Villa had all done the first season and said it was a great experience. I’m talking some heavy hitters—Snake Bracelet, Athenian Owl Coin, Bastet Cat Statuette. Don’t get me wrong, I miss the Brie and baguettes of France, but I’ve made friends here that I literally couldn’t have made anywhere else. This city is such a melting pot!
Speaking of France, can you describe growing up there?
To be clear, I was made in China and then moved—some might say “exported”—to France. Exported is such a crude word; it sounds like I was kidnapped, but, really, who wouldn’t want to live in Paris for a couple of centuries? What’s more, I was fortunate enough to secure housing with Madame de Pompadour at the Élysée Palace. The French president lives there now. Back in the 1700s, de Pomp and her crew really rolled out the red carpet and treated me like royalty. It was the French who gave me this fancy gold pillow to sit on—the “cushy for my tushy,” as I call it. Sorry, am I allowed to say “tushy”? I know we have a family-friendly audience.
“Tushy” is probably okay. Celebrity in France and Hollywood are different animals, so to speak. How has fame in LA changed you, if at all?
Well, first thing, I used to be referred to as “the porcelain cat,” but now everyone knows me by just one name, Purrquoise—like Napoleon or Zendaya or Cher. There was this whole social media contest to name me. It was all very exciting! I hear online baby-naming competitions are all the rage now. What were we talking about? Yes, Hollywood celebrity! It can be a trip sometimes, seeing a stuffed version of yourself hanging off someone’s backpack like you’re some kind of Labubu or having your face plastered across a fancy silk scarf. Why am I plugging the merch? I wish I got a cut of all that! Then again, Getty lets me live here rent free. What can I say? Celebrity has its ups and downs.
Speaking of ups and downs, what can you tell us about this feud with William, the hippo figurine at the Met?
Let me be clear: I have no beef with that hippo. It’s all people on the internet trying to stir up trouble and turn us into “William versus Purrquoise,” some East Coast-vs-West Coast thing, but the truth is, the two of us have more in common than not: we’re both ceramics with similar complexions who are adored by our museums. I was the first mammal to text Willy after the Knicks won the NBA championship. So, no feud. Total misunderstanding.
Hippopotamus (“William”), ca. 1961–1878 BCE, Egyptian. Faience. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Edward S. Harness, 1917
William, the Met Hippo, looking crestfallen by rumors of a feud with Purrquoise
Is there anything else people misunderstand about you?
The whole smoking thing. Back in France they drilled this hole into my back to hold incense, but there’s absolutely no residue to suggest I’ve ever actually smoked. So, another rumor you can dispel. Healthy living is important to me. Not smoking is one of the things I attribute to looking so young.
Purrquoise displaying his incense hole
Please tell our readers what else you’ve done to maintain your youthful appearance.
Two words: Getty’s conservators. They clean us objects up and make us look fresh and near new. I know I’m not the first object to sing their praises as miracle workers. Objects travel from all over the world to see them. I have to tell you, my coat has never looked so vibrant, and my teeth have never felt so sharp. See? Grrrrrrrrr!
Can you offer us a little preview of the podcast episode, and what’s to come in season 2 of If Objects Could Talk?
As for the new season, how about a garrulously gossipy griffin sitting atop a chandelier; a luxuriously languid pink bed; and the coolest, calmest, and most collected bronze horse who gives new meaning to the phrase “defying gravity.” It’s all very exciting. As for my episode, well, just think high adventure on multiple continents over multiple centuries. These big red eyes have seen it all. I talk about all my trials and tribulations. And all my travel. I’m not one to brag, but as far as nautical miles across the sea, Odysseus has nothing on me.
Listen to Purrquoise’s episode on If Objects Could Talk to hear this feline’s full story.
