KANETA MASANAO VIII (1953-) Heisei era (1989-2019), 2013Important works of art from an American private collectionKANETA MASANAO VIII (1953-)Heisei era (1989-2019), 2013The pounded and paddled stoneware vessel sculpted from solid clay forming prominent ridge lines and with a variegated surface, the base with an impressed artist's markWood tomobako storage box inscribed Hagi kobiki kurinuki kaki (Hagi-ware hollowed-out flower container with surface dressing), signed Hachidai Kaneta Masanao tsukuru (Made by Kaneta Masanao VIII) and sealed Masanao 15 3/8 x 16 1/2 x 11 3/4in (39 x 42 x 30cm)Originally trained as a sculptor, Kaneta Masanao has departed radically from the traditional ceramic practice of his native Hagi in the west of Honshu, Japan's main island: instead of shaping his work on the wheel, he digs and scoops his forms out of the pounded and paddled clay. In the past he applied a range of rice-ash glazes but in his more recent work the surface is sometimes simply finished with a powdered blend of iron and clay prior to firing.