石渠寶笈三編(延春閣),第四冊,頁1546&*故宮書畫錄(卷五),第三冊,頁149&*故宮書畫圖錄,第三冊,頁119&*貓古名之為「貍奴」,深受文人雅士所鍾愛,也是歷代畫家喜好描繪的題材之一。本幅傳為宋人所畫,大小貍奴八隻,在庭園的一角嬉戲。畫欄圍繞,錦障高下相連,使園中彷彿別有洞天。群貓嬉戲於湖石、竹叢、桃樹、牡丹之間,或靜或動,生態盎然。畫家觀察入微,寫貍奴瞳孔如線,點出貓戲的時序。蓋貍奴瞳孔旦暮正圓,晝間因日光強烈,縮為線形。&*This painting depicts eight cats and kittens playing among ornamental rocks, flowers, plants, and furniture. This garden setting has a railing in the background with pieces of brocaded cloth draped over clothes racks in front of it, creating a small enclosure. The racks in this painting function like screens, but they also have a decorative purpose as well. Above the clothes racks are two horizontal bars and projections, and on each of the projecting members of the two racks are ornamental heads in the form of dragons and phoenixes. The round drum-stool with side openings is also known as an "embroidered stool." Shaped like a drum, the top and bottom have curved outlines and nail-head patterns imitating an actual drum. The cover of the stool is also fastened to the top like that of a drum. The lacquered table behind the stool has inward-curving horse-hoof feet and spandrels decorated with plum blossoms. Placed on the table are two flower vases with branches of coral, a large three-lobed vase, and two lacquered boxes. The long bench has inward-curving horse hoofs and four sides with cusped openings. Since the horse-hoof feet depicted in this painting are somewhat distorted, this painting was probably done by a late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) court artist.&*此圖繪大小八貍奴,嬉戲於湖石、花叢、綺茵、繡榻間。畫欄為繞,中設衣桁,錦障高下相連,流蘇四垂。衣架在此圖中功能類似屏風,有遮蔽與裝飾作用。上有兩道橫棖搭腦,兩端出頭上挑,有龍鳳圓雕為飾。 開光圓坐墩又名繡墩,造型如鼓,上下彭牙作弦紋及鼓釘紋樣,摹仿鼓面皮革帽釘的形式。有牙子內翻馬蹄足彩繪梅花漆方桌,桌上置有插珊瑚樹的梅瓶、三聯尊及兩漆盒。內翻馬蹄足長凳四面有壺門式輪廓,然馬蹄足之繪法過於牽強附會,此圖應為明代晚期宮廷畫家所作。&*Cats, who were called "leopard cats" during ancient times, have been greatly cherished by literati, and artists have often chosen them as subject matter. This painting, formerly attributed to a Sung dynasty artist, is a depiction of eight cats of various sizes playing in a corner of a garden enclosed by a painted fence. Richly brocaded screens of various heights surround the cats who play among the rocks, bamboo, peach trees, and peonies. The cats are in many different positions; some are quietly still while others are very active. The artist observed cats carefully, painting the pupils of their eyes as slits, indicating the time of day they are playing. It is around noon, because the cats' pupils have contracted into a slit in the bright, midday light.