A SET OF THREE FUCHI AND ONE KASHIRAJapan, 18th - 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Comprising two fuchi with a checkered motif on shakudo nanako ground, the third signed and with a basket weave design. The kashira of bronze color and with gilt and silver takazogan depicting a phoenix.LENGTH 3.5 to 3.7 (the fuchi), 3.4 (the kashira)WEIGHT 72.7 gCondition: Good condition, some wear and burn residue.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.