Bizen Sake Cup

This is a Bizen sake cup by Kosuke Kaneshige, the leader of the Kaneshige family and son of the great restorer of Bizen ware and Living National Treasure, Toyo Kaneshige. It is a stunning piece, with a vibrant red kiln-transformation (yohen) effect that seems to radiate heat. This rare and magnificent kiln-transformation is surely the result of meticulous clay preparation and masterful firing. The interior reveals a beautiful, faint pinkish tone in the clay, and the cup is sure to become even more imbued with the spirit of the sake the more it is used. Signed wooden box (shiho-san)
Diameter 6.6cm x Diameter 6.5cm x Height 6.2cm Kosuke Kaneshige is the third son of Living National Treasure Toyo Kaneshige. He graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts with a degree in sculpture in 1968, and completed his graduate studies in sculpture at the same university in 1970. He began exhibiting his ceramic work in 1975, and after serving as a lecturer at Tokai University, returned home in 1977. He built his own climbing kiln in 1982. He produces sculptures, tea ceremony utensils, flower vases, tableware, and sake vessels. In 1991, he created the ceramic mural "Light and Wind" for the Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Building in Okayama. He received the Japan Ceramic Society Award in 1994. In 1997, he exhibited at the Bizen Ware Exhibition in Paris. He has held solo exhibitions in cities including Tokyo and Osaka. In 2012, he was designated as a Holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture.