Description A SET OF TWO FUCHI AND TWO KASHIRAJapan, 18th – 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Comprising two fuchi with takazogan decorations and signed, one kashira with a shakudo nanako ground depicting three birds, the other bearing a shibuichi ground and decorated with a rat next to a scroll.LENGTH 3.5 cm and 3.8 cm (the fuchi), 3.4 cm and 3.8 cm (the kashira)WEIGHT 66.3 g (total)Condition: Good condition, some wear.Provenance: Ex-collection Doctor Karl Florenz (1865-1939). Born in Erfurt, Karl Adolf Florenz was the founder of German Japanese studies and a translator of important Japanese classics. He became known for his work on Japanese history of literature. Florenz lived in Japan from 1888 until the outbreak of World War I. In 1889 he became a lecturer in German language and literature at the Imperial University of Tokyo, and in 1891 a full professor of German literature and comparative linguistics. In 1899, he became the first foreigner to be awarded the highest Japanese scholarly degree (Bungaku-Hakushi) for his translation of the Nihon shoki.