Shino Teabowl with Bridge and House, known as "Bridge of the Gods" (Shinkyo). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: H. 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm); Diam. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm). Date: late 16th century.Shino ware, produced at the Mino kilns during the Momoyama period, is characterized by a heavy body and coarse, crackled feldspathic glaze, qualities appreciated by the tea master Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591). This Shino teabowl was produced before the introduction of the improved multichambered climbing kiln (noborigama). It is decorated with a simple, linear design of a bridge and a house, painted in iron oxide under the white glaze. This composition had been depicted on several Mino teabowls and is thought to be either a simplified and somewhat abstract representation of the Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka or a reference to the Lady of the Bridge (Hashi-hime), a character from courtly fiction who waited by a bridge at night for her lover to arrive. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.