The Fifth Volume of the FranzArt series of art books focuses on Japanese art Lacquers: primarily on inro.  From 1968 to 1976, Lutz Franz, living in Japan, sparingly began to buy artworks that appealed to him.  Then, from the early 1980s on, Lutz and Hedda Franz, based in Hong Kong, more consistently began to collect Chinese art, focusing intently on snuff bottles, building one of the world's finest collections.

In general there are two kinds of painting: paintings of the world and paintings of minds, although the two interpenetrate.  Paintings of paintings are a special category.

This autumn, Hong Kong is the starting venue for the 46th annual convention of the Annual International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society (ICSBS). ICSBS members Hedda and Lutz Franz, long-time residents of the city, have so far published three volumes on their collection of more than six hundred snuff bottles—Jade, Glass and Stone. The fourth book, Fire, was launched in October. Ahead of the convention, during which they will exhibit about one hundred snuff bottles, we chatted with the Franzes about their fascination with this art form, and with Asian art in general.

Hedda and Lutz Franz always want the Chinese snuff bottles in their collection to speak for themselves.  Formed over the course of the last thirty years, this carefully assembled collection is a reflection of the owners' good taste.