GO-FUKAKUSA, Emperor of Japan.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Calligraphic letter on paper mounted as a hanging scroll. A well-preserved and boldly brushed work of Japanese imperial calligraphy, attributed to Emperor Go-Fukakusa (1243-1304, r. 1246-1259) and authenticated with a June 1977 box inscription by the Japanese calligraphy scholar Koresawa Kyozo (1894-1991). Go-Fukakusa's calligraphy was highly regarded in his lifetime, and examples held in the Kyoto National Museum are classed as "national treasures".Provenance: Shidoritei Library, Kyoto, with its ownership labels affixed to the end of the box. Exhibited at the Chado Research Center Galleries, Kyoto, "Shidoritei bunko korekushon: koshoga tono deai" (Shidoritei Library collection: Encountering Classical Calligraphy and Paintings), 7 January - 20 March 1997, and published in the exhibition catalogue of the same title; Christie's New York, Japanese and Korean Art, 18 September 2013, lot 525; private collection, UK.Koresawa Kyozo served as calligraphy expert for the Japanese government's Agency of Cultural Affairs and authenticated a number of works attributed to royal personages, including a letter from the Empress Meisho (1624-1696) now found in the archives of the Imperial Household Agency, as well as examples later sold at Christie's New York in 2007 and 2013. He also wrote several scholarly studies addressing topics such as the calligraphy of the Momoyama and Edo periods.The present example is presented according to Japanese styles of connoisseurship in a traditional three-co

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