A lovely early painted piece by Tani Ranzan. Slab built with hand carved windows, foot rail and feet. There is some distortion to the basic shape which is not entirely uncommon with Tani's work, just part of his style.

The varied scenes feature frogs from the Chōjū-giga scrolls, a phoenix to the rear, and rural landscapes on either side. Brushwork is most delicate on the frogs and landscapes, the Phoenix slightly less so but it has a charm of it's own. There is a small spot on the phoenix (lower right) where the white base layer must have popped off, but this has been covered by the clear overglaze.

This work being on iron bearing clay makes for a very mellow companion to a tree, quite different to a bright porcelain.