Gourd-shaped flask with grapevines, early 17th century, Unknown Japanese, 8 3/4 × 4 3/16 × 4 1/4 in. (22.23 × 10.64 × 10.8 cm), Mino ware, Shino-Oribe type; stoneware with underglaze iron oxide, Japan, 17th century, Ceramics of the so-called Shino-Oribe style were among the varieties of glazed stoneware produced in the 1600s at kilns in Mino (modern-day Gifu Prefecture). They are characterized by pictorial motifs rendered in an iron-based pigment under a transparent glaze containing feldspar and silica. This flask, featuring a design of grapevines, takes the shape of a calabash gourd when dried, it can be used as a bottle for holding medicines or liquids, especially sake, the alcoholic beverage made from rice.