The beautiful hand-painted ceramic cats that formed the centrepiece of the recent popular Torquay Museum English Riviera Cats Trail are to be auctioned off to raise money for the Museum to help with its vital work in preserving Torbay’s rich heritage.
Each of the 20 ceramic cats displayed around Torbay as part of the trail had a unique theme and were beautifully decorated by local artists and school children. The trail was designed to celebrate the Museum’s popular Claws: A Human History of Cats temporary exhibition, with the aim of getting the local community involved.
“The Cats Trail was really well received,” said organisers Kate Richards and Heather Adams, “and we’ve had lots of enquiries from people wanting to buy these beautiful ceramic cats now that the trail has finished. So we’ve decided to auction them off in a sealed bid process.”
Eleven of the cats will be auctioned, ranging from One-Eyed Jack the Pirate Cat with a wonderful eye patch, to a rather natty Poirot the Mystery Cat complete with moustache and bow tie. Princess Theatre played host to the wonderfully flamboyant Mr Mistoffelees Cat, and Glamourpuss Cat could be found strutting his stuff in Hoopers Department Store. Cleo the Egyptian Cat lived at Torquay Museum itself.
The auction will be by sealed bid, with a reserve price of £25 for each ceramic cat. A full list of the cats to be auctioned can be seen on the Museum’s website: www.torquaymuseum.org/eventsBids can be emailed to carl.smith@torquaymuseum.org, or posted to Torquay Museum, 529 Babbacombe Rd, Torquay, TQ1 1HG. The auction closes on 31st October.
