This pitcher, whose form is based on a European original, is decorated with Chinese figures in a landscape with a blooming tree and mountains in the background. It shows that the Arita porcelain painter was heavily influenced by the Chinese Transitional style, which began in the first half of the 17th century. At its top and bottom, the scene is framed with two bands of plant scrollwork and geometric ornaments. The neck bears the so-called tulip motif. The handle is decorated with simple plant ornamentation, whose origin may be traced to Delft faience decoration. This type, one of the oldest Japanese export porcelains, was imported to Europe starting in the late 1650s by Dutch East India Company traders from their only factory in Japan – on Dejima Island in Nagasaki. (See Filip Suchomel – Marcela Suchomelová, Mistrovská díla japonského porcelánu, Praha 1997, p. 68.)
