These 2,700-year-old gold cat-paw ornaments from a Zhou Dynasty-era tomb – belonging to a man who used to wear them as decoration around his waist – have gone on display at a Chinese museum after being unearthed last year.

The four cat-paw artefacts are from a collection of five found in April last year in a Zhou Dynasty tomb at the Beibai’e cemetery in Yuncheng in the Chinese province of Shanxi.

Excavations at the site unearthed over 500 cultural artefacts from nine Zhou Dynasty tombs, including pottery, bronzeware, and the 2,700-year-old gold cat-paw ornaments.

According to researchers, the tomb belonged to a man and the gold cat paws were probably worn around his waist as decoration.

Some netizens suggested the gold items were proof of China’s ancient cat-loving tradition, however, experts have not yet confirmed whether they were actually based on felines yet.

Four of the five paws are currently on display at a museum in Shanxi Province.

Researchers said another key find from the site was nearly 50 sets of bronzeware with detailed inscriptions in clear text.

The research into the 500 artefacts is ongoing.

The Beibai’e cemetery site boasts a number of Zhou Dynasty tombs and excavations were carried out last year after the local authorities learned of thefts by tomb raiders.