Ten-sided small dish on round footring, spreading sides, flat rim, upturned brown edge with indented corners. Decorated in underglaze blue and iron-red, green, yellow, black and gold on the glaze with a tiger looking upwards near two banded hedges, a bamboo and a flowering prunus. On the rim a foliate scroll with flowers on the corners. On the reverse an undulating scroll with leaves above and below. On the base a square kin (gold) mark in a double outline. This is a type of Kakiemon where enamel colours are combined with underglaze blue. In Japan, the kin mark is associated with Kakiemon production. The tiger near the bamboo was extremely popular in Europe and was copied extensively on European porcelain (Ayers, Impey & Mallet; Pietsch). The tiger was not indigenous to Japan and was a motif originally from China and Korea, possibly reaching Japan as paintings. As a mythical animal it symbolises earthly strength; when combined with the swaying bamboo (where his enemy the elephant cannot follow), it also signifies safety. An identical dish is in the Groninger Museum, Groningen (Arts).