Nezumi-Shino Chawan — Grey and Red Shino Glaze, Mino Ware

This tea bowl (chawan) is glazed in the Nezumi-Shino ("mouse-grey Shino") manner: an iron-rich slip is brushed over the clay and covered with thick feldspathic Shino glaze, which fires to a soft grey. Here the slip was applied with quick, dragging strokes, so the surface shifts between pale ash-grey, deep charcoal and patches of warm brick red where the slip runs thin and the iron flashes through, an effect associated with Beni-Shino. A fine crackle runs through the glaze. Inside, the white Shino glaze is milkier and more open, crossed by loose grey brush marks that look almost like ink washes.

Shino originated in the Mino region (present-day Gifu) in the late 16th century, during the Momoyama period, and is regarded as the first white-glazed ware made in Japan. Nezumi-Shino, with its muted greys and visible brushwork, is one of its most painterly variations and was valued in tea for its quiet, wabi character.

The form is deep and rounded, with gently inturned walls and a softly undulating, hand-shaped rim. The small foot is glazed inside and partly bare on its rim, revealing a buff, sandy clay with orange flashing, and an incised potter's mark sits just beside it.

• Origin: Japan, Mino ware, Nezumi-Shino style with red (Beni-Shino) flashing; kiln/artist unconfirmed

• Form: Deep rounded chawan, inturned walls, undulating rim

• Glaze: Grey Shino over brushed iron slip, red flashes, fine crackle; milky white interior

• Foot: Small foot, partly unglazed buff clay, incised potter's mark

• Condition: Good secondhand condition — please see photos for any marks

• Dimensions: (Diam.) approx. 11.3cm x (H) approx. 8.5cm