The surface purity of this miniature ironstone tureen is interrupted only by a scattering of printed transfer motifs--birds and animals in brown transfer, foliage sprigs in blue. Each is complete in itself; no overall narrative is suggested; each is left alone to spark a child's imagination.

The oval form is simple with a plain knop and small folded handles. The attached undertray seems unexpected to those more accustomed to British tureen forms. 

The decoration of this miniature tureen, a piece of unassuming but unmistakable charm, reveals quite distinguished precedents. The use of scattered independent motifs points to the influence of Felix Bracquemond's "Service Rousseau," acknowledged as the pioneer ceramic expression of  the European fascination with Japanese design. Bracquemond drew his inspiration from the Manga, a series of print collections based on sketches by the Japanese master Hokusai. This along with other Japanese modes of composition disrupted the center-and-border approach of traditional European ceramic decoration. (Examples of the "Service Rousseau" are available on Seekers website.)