Ewer for hot water with wisteria

In the late 16th century, the nobility began to add elegant hot-water ewers like this to their tableware. Later, such a ewer might have been used for the light meals that precedes chanoyu, the ceremonial preparation of powdered green tea. On the hardened black lacquer ground, wisteria was painted with red lacquer and before that became hard, silver and gold powders were dusted over the drawings. The powders blended, producing a subtle tonal contrast.