Los Angeles has a brand-new celebrity, and he is three centuries old, made of porcelain, and utterly charming. Meet Purrquoise, the Getty’s famous 18th-century porcelain cat statuette, who has taken center stage as the guest star of If Objects Could Talk, the Getty’s original podcast that lets collection objects tell their stories in their own words.
Added to the Getty collection in 2024, this fancy French feline with a shimmering blue-green glaze is a true globe-trotter: crafted in China, exported to France, and now happily at home in Los Angeles. In a delightfully candid interview, Purrquoise talks about life as a ceramic sensation, his LA friends, and the perks and pitfalls of fame.
The cat wastes no time on small talk. Asked about celebrity, he jokes that he took the podcast gig on his agent’s advice to help sell a screenplay he has been shopping around town. He confesses he misses the brie and baguettes of France, but says Los Angeles won him over: “This city is such a melting pot!” He has even befriended fellow podcast alumni like the Snake Bracelet, the Athenian Owl Coin, and the Bastet Cat Statuette.
At nearly 300 years old, Purrquoise still has zero interest in driving — “then Uber and Waymo are invented, then what’s the point?” — and plenty of opinions about LA culture. The episode is the perfect excuse to visit the Getty Center, see the star in person, and fall in love with a cat who never needs feeding.
Photo: Getty
