The two identical porcelain figures, depicting the god Hotei, seated on a high Japanese drum decorated with peonies and chrysanthemums in overglaze red, green, turquoise, purple and gold enamels, and openwork patterns of mallow leaves. Dressed in a large green cloak decorated with floral foliage which largely reveals his belly, a large bag in his back where are perched children and dogs, and holding a fan in the right hand. The round, chubby face with distended ears lobes animated by a laughing expression and a broad smile. Hotei is the most popular of the seven Gods of Good Fortune (ShichiFukujin). This deity with Daoist origin is considered by the Buddhists as an incarnation of the Maitreya buddha (Miroku). In Japanese popular culture, he is called Putai no San, literally “Mr Cloth Sack”.