Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Of upright, rounded rectangular form, bearing a lustrous roiro ground richly decorated in gold and red nashiji and kirigane as well as gold, silver, black, and copper-red takamaki-e to depict Oharame seated on a bundle of sticks in a hilly landscape with various trees, smoking a pipe in a relaxed pose. The interior with nashiji and gold fundame edges. With a finely ivory ojime carved in the form of two Noh masks.HEIGHT 9 cmCondition: The lower edge of one side with a loss, otherwise in very good condition with minor wear.Provenance: Collection of Gérard Lévy. Gérard Lévy (1934-2016), named by Le Figaro as ‘The Man with the Carnation’ for the flower he would always wear on his lapel, was a revered dealer and connoisseur of Asian art and antique photography. His gallery in Paris, designed by Le Corbusier, opened in 1966, and is today run and managed by his daughter, with the help of her two brothers, both renowned collectors themselves. About his collection, Gérard Lévy once said, “The intention was that my collection should be off the beaten track. Should you share my taste, I will know that I was right to collect along these lines. But in any case, I have gained enormous pleasure from my collection. Old collector’s label ‘No.3’ attached. Remnants of an old paper label to the underside.Oharame refers to the women who came from Ohara, Yamashiro Province, to sell firewood in the capital Kyoto by placing the firewood on their heads.