Bizen ware vase with handles

This is an exquisite Bizen ware flower vase, an earlier work by Kousuke Kaneshige, the leader of the Kaneshige family and son of the legendary Living National Treasure and restorer of Bizen ware, Toyo Kaneshige. It was crafted around the time Kousuke Kaneshige built his climbing kiln in Kado, circa 1990. The vase displays a truly magnificent landscape, blending dark ash-covered kiln changes with the soft, orange-hued earth. The form itself is quite striking, with a fascinating contrast between the generous, swelling body and the sharply constricted neck. The elegant scarlet hue, achievable only through hand-crafting, possesses a rustic beauty even without flowers, and is deeply moving to behold. (Please note: As shown in photo 7, there are two large kiln flaws on the rim, but they do not affect its use.) Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Diameter 14.6cm × Diameter 14.1cm × Height 24.1cm Kousuke 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 there in 1970. He began exhibiting his ceramic works in 1975, and after serving as a lecturer at Tokai University, he returned home in 1977. He built his own climbing kiln in 1982. He produces objects, tea utensils, 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 Paris Exhibition. He has held solo exhibitions in various locations, including Tokyo and Osaka. In 2012, he was designated as a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture.