Unique Japanese Kutani 7 Lucky Gods Lidded Tea Cup Signed w/ Story Calligraphy

Description

Antique Japanese Kutani 7 Lucky Gods Porcelain Tea Cup Signed Story Calligraphy.
This exquisite hand painted over gold background porcelain lidded cup is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks.  It measures
3.25 inches tall without the lid (3.5 inches with the lid).  Cup opening is 2.5 inches wide.  The lid fits over the top rim of cup the width of the matching top band of the cup. I am unsure if this piece is over 100 years old but it is quite old.  I have been unable to determine the maker although it is on the base.
In Traditional Kyoto the artist of this cup has painted the figures known as
The Seven Lucky Gods
on the outside of the cup and also tells the story of each god in Japanese calligraphy
(
書道
,
shodō
)
also called
shūji
(
習字
)
This wonderful unique piece of art will be packed well and very carefully and sent out priority mail.
The Seven Lucky Gods of Japan,
Shichifukujin
, are an eclectic group of deities from Japan, India, and China. Only one is native to Japan (
Ebisu
) and Japan’s indigenous Shinto tradition. Three are from the Hindu-Buddhist pantheon of India (
Daikokuten, Bishamonten,
and
Benzaiten
)and three from Chinese Taoist-Buddhist traditions (
Hotei, Jurōjin,
and
Fukurokuju
).
Each god represents one of these seven virtues: honesty, fortune, dignity, joy, longevity, happiness and wisdom.
According to the Japanese legend, they travel in a ship called Takarabune which is filled with treasures and comes from sea to bring fortune and prosperity to everyone. It is said that if you leave a picture of the Shichifukujin below your pillow on the night of the last day of the year, you will be lucky and have good fortune the whole new year.
In case of interest in learning more about the Seven Lucky Gods, check out this Wikipedia site where you can download a pdf describing each of the gods depicted on the tea cup at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Lucky_Gods