Franz Art. Jade. Chinese Art From the Hedda and Lutz Franz Collection. Volume One

It's hard to believe that only 50 years ago few collectors were interested in Chinese snuff bottles. Chinese antiques dealers dumped them into baskets from which choice examples could be bought for just a few dollars. How far we have come from those days! Just last year an enameled glass bottle sold for an astonishing $3.3 million, and it's likely that record won't last for long. While the turning point was undoubtedly the publication of Lilla Perry's 1960 book "Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Adventures & Studies of a Collector," the two-volume Franz set will show you what all the excitement is about.

Chinese jade carvings are one of the most representative, and snuff bottles one of the most collectible, of the Chinese arts. Hedda and Lutz Franz of Hong Kong have spent a quarter century assembling a spectacular collection with remarkable connoisseurship and a bit of whimsy, too. Fortunately for us, not only have they chosen to share their collection, but they have done so in a beautiful, sumptuously produced set of books. More than 85% of the 335 items shown are snuff bottles-clearly the Franz's main love. A few other small carvings round out the first volume (Jade) and some non-snuff glass vessels the second volume (Glass). Among the jade bottles are an unusual number of fine and rare black (and contrasting black/white) nephrite examples, as well as others that take artistic advantage of the material's colored inclusions and underskin. This has to be one of the most impressive snuff bottle collections ever assembled.