Incense box and tray

Ogawa Haritsu (1663-1747), known also as Ritsuo, accomplished a subtle revolution in the creation of writing boxes and other writing instruments. His ingenious manipulation of nontraditional materials such as ceramic and found objects; emphasis on the contrast between plain, weathered wood and highly polished elements of ceramic and metal; and frequent use of trompe l'oeil, using lacquer to imitate diverse materials, expanded the expressive potential of the lacquered stationery box. In the late nineteenth century, Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891) was the central force in a revival and amplification of Ritsuo's vision. This box, by an unknown artist, seems to be a product of that revival.

On the cover, in a parody of scholarly examination of a painting, three monkeys studiously observe a painting that features the flight of the yodaka (night hawk), a word in the Edo period associated with "night stalkers" or streetwalkers. The interior cover depicts the statue of a Buddhist guardian figure placed on a Chinese-style table with an adjacent spray of chrysanthemums.