At 37 centimetres, this rectangular vase of about 1890 is one of the largest and most ambitious early works recorded from the studio. Each of its four sides carries a single framed panel. One shows an extensive mountain landscape with rice farmers at work in the foreground, and another figures viewing chrysanthemums in a garden. The third has fishermen in boats on a lake. The fourth shows monkeys among rocks and bamboo, after a design by the Edo-period painter Mori Sosen (1747–1821), celebrated for his monkeys.
Each panel sits within a border of roundels, and the ground between them is scattered with stylised flowers and scrolls. Chrysanthemums crowd the shoulder, and a formal diaper band encircles the neck. The square form, the four-panel scheme and the monkey subject invite comparison with the presentation vase Bonhams sold in New York in 2017. The vase is published in Impey and Fairley (1995), cat. 12, and Earle (2002), cat. 87.