A WOOD PILLAR HANGING SIGNED RITSUO (OGAWA HARITSU). 18th/19th Century. Inlaid in glazed pottery, mother-of-pearl, lacquer and metal, with a parrot perched on a swing suspended from a biwa (loquat) tree, looking at a fly, signed Rituo sei, with two porcelain seals, Kan and Naoyuki, 12 x 128cm.鸚鵡意匠聯 銘 傘翁製, 印 観、尚行Shosai (a study room) was an important space for the elite samurai and scholars in the 18th century Edo society, as the objects and paintings displayed in those rooms reflected the owner’s education and taste. Haritsu was inspired by Ming period Chinese designs of ink cakes, and his work became popular among the high-class samurai in the city who had considerable knowledge of Chinese literature and art.Compositional elements for the present pillow hanging follow closely from the style of other pillar hangings illustrated in Haino Akio, Ogawa Haritsu, Nihon no bijyutsu series, vol.389, p.68.