Oil on canvas 35 x 70 cm. Until recently this painting was in the possession of the Purbecks in UK. It has been said that the dammage, that now detracts from the original beauty of this piece, occurred when Sir John Purbecks father was a teenager, and his parents were on a week end trip to Blackpool. The young Paul Purbeck stole the opportunity to keep a home alone party at his parents residence. However, things got way out of hand when a local rugby team showed up after a match and played a game of their rough out door sport inside the dining room, where this genuine and precious piece of ancient cat art was mounted. The fragile canvas was left with a devastating tear. The young man tried to restore the artwork using needle and thread plus his mothers amateur set of artist oil colors. Apparently, the damage on the painting was never discovered, although Paul was caught having an illegal party and given a harsh punishment. Sold