Vase in a spherical for ornamented with relief, horizontal scalloped ribs that graduate in size from the waist towards the rim and base, the ribs interrupted by six similarly graduated columns of indented ovals. Of cast bronze with a textured yaki-urushi or baked lacquer patination with a rich brown-black coloration, the high points of the relief polished to a lighter, gold tone. Signed on the reverse in archaic, seal script characters with a chiseled signature by the artist: Hirotoshi no Saku or The Work of Hirotoshi (Yoneda Hirotoshi, 1911 – 1972). Showa 16 or 1941.

With the tomobako or original box, inscribed on the exterior of the lid: Chudo Kabin or Cast Bronze Vase; and on the reverse dated: Showa Ju-roku-nen, Aki or (Made in) Showa (era) 16th Year (1941), in Autumn; and inscribed: Dai Yon-kai Bunten Shuppin or Made for the Great 4th Bunten (Shin- Bunten Exhibition); and signed: Yoneda Hirotoshi Saku or Made by Yoneda Hirotoshi, and sealed: Yoneda Hirotoshi no Saku or The Work of Yoneda Hirotoshi.

This piece was made for exhibition at the 4th Shin-Bunten in 1941, and is illustrated in the reprinted catalogues of the exhibitions, the Nittenshi, volume 14, page 458, number 224.

Born in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, Yoneda Hirotoshi was the eldest son of a metal casting specialist. He studied under his father and then more formally at the Takaoka Commerce and Industry Training School. In 1927, he first had a piece accepted for exhibition at the government sponsored Shokoten. In 1932, his work was accepted into the national exhibitions with the Teiten, and its successor the Shin-Bunten. After the Pacific War, he continued to exhibit nationally with annual Nitten Exhibition.

For another example of Yoneda’s work, c.f. Kagedo’s catalogue: Breaking Light, number 101, page 109. That vase was subsequently exhibited at Japan Society in New York, and published in the 2012 exhibition catalogue Deco Japan: Shaping Art & Culture: 1920 – 1945, number 60, page 135.

This sculptural exhibition work by Yoneda Hirotoshi reflects his modernist aesthetic and deep feeling for strong geometries. The powerful form, proportions and complex coloration play off of each other with sophistication. In the context of the era, it speaks to the future with confidence, severity of vision and the authority of masterful craftsmanship.