Tea Leaf Jar, named Shōka (Pine Flower)

IMPORTANT CULTURAL PROPERTY
China, Southern Song dynasty, 13th-14th c.
Tea Leaf Jars ware originally used as spice containers in southern China, though they were imported to Japan as storage jars for tea leaves. In addition to their practical use, during the Muromachi period, the Shogun's art connoisseurs discovered beauty in their shape and glazes and used them decoratively as the most prized tea implement. However, at the end of the 16th century, when smaller tearooms came to be favored, tea aficionados deemed the tea container, more important than the tea leaf jar.