A rare small Arita plate, perhaps a Teshio-zara (salt plate), from the Edo period, c.1850-1865. Delicately painted by hand in underglaze blue a scene of the ‘Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove’, a well documented Chinese historical myth. The underside of the rim depicts clouds, mountains and a small village. The piece measures 15cm in diameter and is in perfect condition, with some in-manufacture glaze adhesions. Provenance: a private collection, Buckinghamshire, England.