P R E CIOU S P LAYTHING S IN DUBLIN : S NU F F BOTTL E S AT TH E CH E S T E R B E ATTY LIBRARY Christine Inglis – TAASA Review March 2010

D ublin and Asia is surely an oxymoron.

However, as participants in the 41st annual convention of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society (ICSBS) held in Dublin from 20-23 October 2009 discovered, the city is home to several major collections of Asian art. Among them is the Albert Bender Collection of Asian Art at the National Museum of Ireland.

Alfred Bender, although born in Dublin, emigrated as a teenager to the USA where he became a successful insurance broker and collector of Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese art...