Japanese netsuke are superb little carvings, mostly made out of ivory or wood, as handling pieces, or toggles.  So one good way of judging a good netsuke is to handle it, whilst doing so it should feel very comfortable and interesting, in the hand, without any disturbing sharp points.  Although netsuke are often only about an inch high, these tiny sculptures are very powerfully carved and so full of character.

Japanese lacquer inro and boxes are such incredibly beautiful works of art, particularly, pieces from the late 18th and early 19th century.  I consider many of them to rate very highly, amongst the finest treasures of the World!

Without I hope being too technical, my intention is to use and to explain the terms and names, that are most commonly in use.  This way readers who might be tempted to look at sale catalogues, will be more able to appreciate and understand the descriptions.

Before I describe these unique and beautiful works of art, exclusively Japanese, I feel that you need to know more about Lacquer, the extraordinary medium that was used.  Only then will you fully appreciate these brilliant creations.

For readers who are unfamiliar with old Japanese lacquer, I suspect you will be thinking of the typical modern lacquer trays and bowls that are mass-produced.  These items are very decorative, but completely fail to compare with the magnificent earlier hand made works.

When collecting Japanese netsuke most of the true antique netsuke, as against lots of modern copies, will normally have two connecting cord holes (known as himotoshi), but one will be much larger than the other!

There is little doubt that the finest bottles were made in the reigns of Chien Lung 1736 - 95, Chia Ching 1796 - 1820 and Tao Kuang 1821 - 50.  All Chinese artwork reached the highest of peaks during Chien Lung's reign thanks to his patronage and encouragement.

There are a variety of heavy stones that will float in water such as jade, quartz, chalcedony and hair crystal. If you find this comment hard to believe, then you obviously have not learned about collecting fine antique Chinese snuff bottles!

The first Chinese snuff bottles we decided to buy, that were not carved out of stone, were made of glass.  A huge range of glass bottles is to be found in all shapes and colours as well as a variety of manufacturing techniques. Much more research is needed in order to date these bottles, but it is generally now agreed that glass and metal bottles were the earliest materials to be used.  The problem is that glass has been used throughout the whole snuff bottle period right up to the present day. The Chinese had little use for glass prior to the 17th century mainly because of their highly refined porcelain skills.  They had no glass windows, favouring translucent paper. We are not sure if glass had been used centuries earlier in China but it was certainly introduced to them by Europeans in good time for snuff bottles.

Over a good many years we have created, though I say it myself, quite an important snuff bottle collection.  My wife, thank goodness, shares my interest in these little bottles, but perhaps I should warn you, collecting anything is a bit like a bug, once caught, it is with you for ever and can be quite an obsession! Have you ever searched for pebbles or shells along the sea shore, selecting them for either colour or shape and found an appeal in handling them, so much so, that you simply could not throw them away?  If so, you have the makings of a dedicated collector. Part of the pleasure of owning these bottles is the tactile appeal found in handling them.