Polychrome wares embellished with gilt to resemble the appearance of rich brocade is known by its Japanese term, kinrande. Their combination of brilliant colours was derived from highly attuned visual enjoyment of painting, lacquer and silk. In the 16th century, items of this type were exported to Japan where these were highly valued as the Japanese kilns did not start making porcelain until the early 17th century, and even then their products were limited in numbers and localised in distribution. A newly arisen class of wealthy merchants prospered in many emergent urban centres, and it was this group that fostered the growth of the tea ceremony as it is practised today.

A similar iron-red stem-cup, with exception of the gilt decoration, in the Koger Collection, is illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics: The Koger Collection, 1985, p. 110, no. 85; and a bowl comparable to the present stem-bowl, ibid., p. 111, no. 86, where the author points out that these prized wares were used for tea ceremonial use in Japan, thence they are known by their derived Japanese name of kinran-de or 'gold brocade design'.