Square bowl with pattern of hanging vines and fruit

During the sixteenth century, the potters of Mino, near Nagoya, developed a number of new ceramic styles for use in the tea ceremony. Shino ware was characterized by a thick, snowy surface which resulted from a feldspathic glaze fired for an extended period. Shino potters decorated their works by painting simple designs on the surface of the clay with iron-oxide slip prior to glazing. After firing, the resulting patterns shone softly through the milky glaze, producing a pleasingly subtle effect. Bowls such as this would have been used in the formal kaiseki meal as part of an extended tea ceremony.