SENCHA CUP, Blue-and-white porcelain with orchid grass design, set of 9, Ming–Qing Dynasty（1368–1911CE）

White-porcelain, blue-and-white sencha cups with an orchid-and-grass motif, dating to the late Ming–early Qing period.
The small set of nine was handed down among sencha practitioners as gyokuro cups.

On a softly white porcelain surface an orchid-grass motif is painted in pale underglaze blue. The brushwork is not overly refined; the lines of the plants occasionally ripple with a playful looseness, conveying a rustic simplicity characteristic of folk kilns. The form also shows slight individual variation—each piece differs in the flare of its rim and the character of its foot.

Although small in dimension, when held it reveals the mellow, tactile quality of aged white porcelain, and the pale underglaze-blue decoration blends quietly into a tea setting. Its size is well suited to serving gyokuro or a small portion of sencha, and it also makes a pleasing sake cup.

Kiln marks from firing, irregularities in the glaze, and age-related wear to the rims are apparent; these are natural attributes of an old folk‑kiln vessel. This set of nine sencha cups is rich in character and suggests careful use within a sencha household.