Bizen Tetsuki Hanaire

This is a Bizen ware handled vase by Sosu Kaneshige, the eldest son of the master potter Sozan Kaneshige, whose work captivates many with its harmony of delicate, elegant clay texture and powerful form. This piece features a rich, viscous clay texture that graduates from orange to reddish-purple and then to a light brown—a hallmark of Sosu's work at a glance. At the same time, the inclusion of small stones throughout demonstrates the splendor and strength that can only come from years of dedicated clay preparation. From the top of the handle down to the shoulder, the "goma" (ash glaze) transforms, shifting from a bluish, crusty ash to a scorched ash, and finally to a fine-grained yellow ash. It can be enjoyed as a display piece as a vase, or used to arrange flowers. Signed wooden box (double-crosspiece lid)
Diameter 20.6cm x 20.5cm x Height 26.5cm Sosu Kaneshige is the eldest son of the holder of intangible cultural property, Sozan Kaneshige. After graduating from the Faculty of Agriculture at Kyoto University in 1969, he began his path in ceramics under his father, establishing his own studio in 1979. He primarily focuses on tea ceremony ceramics created on the potter's wheel, characterized by deep, rich firing. He strives to eliminate unnecessary ornamentation, focusing on channeling his own spirit directly into the clay. He rarely enters public exhibitions, preferring to focus his energy on solo exhibitions, which he holds vigorously every year at department stores and other venues in Okayama, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Kumamoto. He also held a solo exhibition in Munich, Germany in 1995 and exhibited at the Bizen Ware Paris Exhibition in 1997.