Hand-Painted Whimsical Ceramic Tiger Pitcher

This item is a medium-sized ceramic pitcher featuring a hand-painted, whimsical design of a smiling tiger. The vessel is constructed from glazed earthenware or stoneware, characterized by a bulbous body, a wide pouring lip, and a large, loop-style handle attached at the rim and shoulder. The primary decorative motif is an orange and black striped tiger face rendered in a folk-art or 'naif' style with thick black outlines and playful facial features. The background is a creamy off-white, accented with cobalt blue abstract fields and multi-colored polka dots in red and yellow. The glaze appears bright and glossy, indicating a relatively modern 20th or 21s-century production, likely from a boutique pottery studio or as high-end giftware. It displays a uniform craquelure or smooth finish depending on closer inspection, with no major visible chips or structural cracks in the provided image. The handle is finished in a clean white glaze, providing a contrast to the busy pattern of the body. Such pieces are often valued for their decorative charm and artisanal quality rather than historical age. The craftsmanship suggests a hand-decorated process where no two pieces are exactly identical.