1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:A very attractive tiki mug! Was my first impression as well
I'm 99% sure it's a calligraphy brush holder. That it is from Taiwan and features the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove is a big give-away. That image is very typical of Chinese brush holders. Here is an example , although this one is carved bamboo rather than ceramic:
Brushpot with depiction of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, China, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century AD, bamboo - Ethnological Museum, Berlin
Public Domain Image via Wikicommons
Many more here.
Tiki mugs didn't emerge until the 1960s - and far from China.
