Description RITSUO: A SUPERB LACQUER AND POTTERY FOUR-CASE WOOD INRO WITH LUCKY ELEPHANTAttributed to Ogawa Haritsu (Ritsuo, 1663-1747), sealed Kan 観Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)The three-case wood inro decorated with a richly caparisoned elephant, lacquered in gold and silver takamaki-e, the details inlaid in pottery and aogai with gold hiramaki-e scrolling decorations, the back cloth with a design of scrolling flowerheads and key fret borders. Inscribed to the back in gold lacquer zo rai chi fuku [The elephant comes bringing good fortune] and with a gold-lacquer square seal KAN – the seal used by Ogawa Haritsu and his followers. With a hardstone bead ojime.HEIGHT 5.9 cm, LENGTH 5.5 cmCondition: Very good condition with expected surface wear to wood, some tiny losses to lacquer.Provenance: Ex-collection Arthur Kay (1860-1939), with old label pasted underneath. Arthur Kay was a British industrialist and important collector, one of the earliest European collectors of Japanese lacquerware.Ogawa Haritsu (formerly often referred to outside Japan by his alternative name of Ritsuo) was among the first Japanese lacquer artists to establish an independent reputation outside of the hereditary craft dynasties of Kyoto, Edo, and Kanazawa. Following an early career as a haiku poet, he is thought to have first turned his attention to lacquer design in middle age and soon attracted a wide following thanks to his novel choice of subject matter and pioneering and imaginative use of unusual materials; at some point after 1710 he was hired by Tsugaru Nobuhisa (1669-1747), lord of a domain in northern Japan, for whom he worked until 1731.In lacquer, he introduced a vocabulary of new materials not usually associated with lacquer artists such as glazed ceramic pieces, mother-of-pearl, and lead. Haritsu also mastered the technique of making lacquer surfaces appear to resemble other materials such as bronze, tile, ink sticks, and pottery, a style of decoration which became known as Haritsu saiku. Auction comparison:A closely related wood inro with elephant decoration by Ogawa Haritsu, sealed Kan and Shoko, was sold by Bonhams, The Harriet Szechenyi Sale of Japanese Art, 8 November 2011, London, lot 274 (sold for 10,000 GBP).