A FINE RINPA-STYLE INLAID LACQUER KOGO (INCENSE BOX) WITH CAMELLIA BLOSSOMSStyle of Ogata Korin (1658-1716), unsigned Japan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Of circular form with a lenticular top and base, bearing a kinji ground finely decorated in gold and black takamaki-e and hiramaki-e with inlays of mother-of-pearl and pewter to depict camellia blossoms borne on leafy stems, the interior similarly decorated with leaves and flowers of sarutori ibara (china root, Smilax china) floating in a stream.DIAMETER 7.6 cmCondition: Very good condition with some wear and few minor losses to lacquer.Provenance: From an old French private collection. The interior with two old inventory labels, ‘31’ and ‘261’, as well as a cut-out of an old catalog description of the present lot.Ogata Korin (1658-1716) was a famous and highly influential Japanese landscape illustrator, lacquerer, painter, and textile designer of the Rinpa School. Korin is best known for his byobu folding screens, such as Irises and Red and White Plum Blossoms (both registered National Treasures), and his paintings on ceramics and lacquerware produced by his brother Kenzan (1663-1743). Also a prolific designer, he worked with a variety of decorative and practical objects, such as round fans, makie writing boxes, or inro medicine cases. He is also credited with reviving and consolidating the Rinpa school of Japanese painting, fifty years after its foundation by Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637) and Tawaraya Sotatsu (c. 1570-c. 1640). In fact the term ‘Rinpa’, coined in the Meiji period, means ‘school of [Ko]rin’. In particular, he had a lasting influence on Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828), who replicated many of his paintings and popularized his work, organizing the first exhibition of Korin's paintings at the hundredth anniversary of his death.