LONDON.- Bonhams will hold the sixth (and penultimate) of a series of sales from the Edward Wrangham Collection on Tuesday 10 November at its New Bond Street headquarters in London.

The five previous sales of the Edward Wrangham Collection - considered to be Europe's pre-eminent private collection of Japanese miniature art - have so far realised more than £7m.

The Wrangham Collection was formed by the late environmentalist, mountaineer, scholar and collector Edward Wrangham OBE (see notes for editors). One of the last of the great British collectors, he was greatly influenced by his uncle William Winkworth as well as by his grandfather, the legendary collector of Asian art Stephen Winkworth, who presented him with his first netsuke in 1936, when he was only eight years old. Wrangham continued to add to his collection until his death in 2009, sourcing works of art from all over the world. His collection, which was catalogued and published by Wrangham himself, consists of more than 1,000 examples of inro, netsuke and Japanese sword fittings assembled over many decades.

Highlights of the sale include:

• A complete set of five lacquer tanzaku (poem-cards) by Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891), Meiji Period (above, estimate: £20,000 - 25,000)

• A fine gold-and-black-lacquer five-case inro By Hon'ami Shoetsu, after Yamaguchi Soken, 19th century (estimate: £20,000 - 25,000)

• A gold-lacquer four-case saya inro by Koma Kansai, 19th century (estimate: £20,000 - 25,000)

• A fine lacquer five-case inro by Suzuki Tokoku (1846-1913), late 19th century (below, estimate: £15,000 - 20,000)

• A large gold-lacquer four-case inro by Yamaguchi Shojosai (1900-1978), 20th century (estimate: £15,000 - 18,000)

Although Wrangham was fascinated by both Chinese and Japanese art, it was to be the study of Japanese inro as a whole - the techniques of their production, their makers and (as he himself commented) ‘the by-ways of the art’ - which ignited Wrangham’s enthusiasm and cemented an enduring passion. His deep and scholarly contribution to what was then a relatively unknown area of Japanese art was acknowledged in a pioneering exhibition (the first of its kind dedicated to inro in the United Kingdom) held at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, in 1972.

Wrangham’s passion culminated in the private publication of his book, The Index of Inro Artists (Harehope Publications, 1995), which is still considered one of the most important English-language studies on lacquer ever published and remains an essential reference tool in the libraries of collectors, dealers and museums. While writing the book, he also produced numerous eloquent and knowledgeable articles on Japanese art, as well as on mountaineering, his other love, lecturing widely on both subjects.

Suzannah Yip, head of Bonhams’ Japanese department, comments: "This series of sales represents one of the finest and most comprehensive single-owner collections of inro ever to have been offered at auction. As with the first five sales, we have endeavoured to select a cross-section of important pieces, ranging from the earliest rudimentary examples to sophisticated and elaborate pieces from the 20th century."

The sale also includes a selection of sword-fittings, netsuke, pipe cases and other lacquer works of art. The previous sales generated intense and unprecedented interest from academics, students and collectors worldwide.