Jun Kaneko platter

I ate breakfast in Omaha this morning with family at a little dive called Dixie Quick’s. Behind my chair in the crowded little restaurant was a ceramic platter which, if I heard my uncle correctly, was crafted by sculptor Jun Kaneko:

I took the scrappy photo above with my cameraphone. My uncle said the platter, near the floor and in the back corner of this little eatery, is probably worth $25,000. Kaneko is known for what he calls his dangos (Japanese for “dumpling”). The following is one of his dango sculptures in the Gail Severn Gallery:

This work is 50″ tall. The Joslyn here in Omaha has one of his dango’s in their collection which I’ve seen in person. My uncle said Kaneko was virtually unknown until his wife basically took over as his marketing agent.