Pitcher, 5.5 inches tall (14cm). Brown transfer. Printed maker's marks for Whittaker & Co. This delightful Aesthetic pattern features a rural Japanese scene. A small house sits on a shore with mountains in the background. Three figures are placed adjacent to the house: an old man looks toward a boat on the water while a man holding a staff looks at a young man sitting on the ground and gestures toward the boat. The opposite side of the pitcher features flowers on thorny branches. The rim features a butterfly on one side and a cluster of rocks and flowers in the water on the other. The inside rim also features a motif of plants growing from water. The handle has a stylized feather pattern.

Whitaker & Co. was part of a brief series of partnerships of earthenware manufacturers, operating the Hallfield Pottery, built in 1882) in Hanley, Staffordshire. The original partners were Lewis Whittaker, James Edge, Samuel Heath, John Henry Weatherby, and Robert Rowley. Whittaker, Edge & Co.: 1882-1886. Whittaker & Co.: 1886-1892. Whittaker, Heath & Co.: 1892-1898.