Here is a fantastic, large Japanese Kutani charger, decorated in the ''Thousand Faces'' design, with a central medallion featuring a golden Pheonix darting about the sky, against a background of clouds and foliage. The figures are painted by an accomplished hand using loose, quick brush strokes which convey great character and depth in each figure, their clothing picked out with gilded detail.Surrounding the centre are a host ( probably not quite a thousand!)  of characters and scholars, leading to a panel with an inscription. Looking at them holding their scrolls and manuscripts, you can almost hear the hum of their chatter and discourse.Kutani Ware (or Kutani Yaki) originates from near the city of Kaga, and has been in production since the Edo Period ( beginning of the 17th Century)  and is characterised by its use of primarily 5 bold colours. This charger is in the ''Eirakufu'' discipline of Kutani Ware, fusing together reds and golds in a distinctive colour palette....