Page 7 - September 21 2021 MAnfred Arnold Collection snuff bottles Bonhams NYC

The Manfred Arnold Collection

of Chinese Snuff Bottles

Born in the industrial North Sea port city of Wilhelmshaven,
Germany in 1938, at a traumatic time in world events, Manfred
Arnold spent his youth in this Lower Saxony region. He entertained
the idea of becoming an artist, but his father persuaded him
otherwise. He graduated cum laude from business school and
entered the business world with a German shipping company. The
deciding factor in his decision, he recalls, was the promise, if he
succeeded in the position, that he would be able to see the world,
in effect, at the company’s expense.

In 1963 Manfred boarded a company ship and left for America to
work in the ship-owner’s New York branch. In December of that
same year, he met his lovely future wife, Susan. He also began to
paint again after a lengthy hiatus and won first prize in a painting
competition in Massachusetts. The following year, Manfred
accepted a position, in the far-flung branch of a shipping company
in Tokyo taking a company ship via stops in Peru and Chile. That
company ship was serendipitously owned by an early ISCSBS
member, Thomas C. van Nuys.

It was in Tokyo that Manfred saw his first snuff bottle. He briefly met
Bob C. Stevens, one of the early giants in the field of snuff bottle
collecting. Susan, who had already accepted Manfred’s marriage
proposal, joined him in Tokyo and the marriage ceremony took
place in late November (figs. 1 & 2) They travelled around Japan
together immersing themselves in the culture and great food.

Fig.1 Manfred and Susan Arnold Tokyo Wedding 1964