Tea Caddy, 13th–14th century

This charming container was originally made as a medicine or cosmetic jar, but this type of Chinese ceramic was highly prized by Japanese tea masters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, who adapted a variety of domestic wares for use in the tea ceremony. The porcelain clay body, the clear yellow glaze over white slip, and the freely brushed iron oxide decoration are characteristics associated with the Jizhou kiln in southern Jiangsu province, a site that was abandoned in the fourteenth century.