Vintage tea set for five people. The set is made of porcelain, decorated with polychrome painting. Japan, the twentieth century.

The teacups are decorated with a lithophane effect; when finishing your tea, you can see the image of a geisha held up to the light. These images are encountered, some more frequently than others. It is believed that the finest details and play of light and shadow are the highest quality in the image. According to legend, the images of geishas were applied to prevent counterfeiting. Such images were applied from the early 19th century. Production of tea sets with a lithophane effect ceased in the late 1950s. The models were typically the artists' spouses.