Orange, a resident of Hong Kong, formed his collection during many visits to Japan in the quarter of a century preceding 1907; the introduction to his catalogue states that:

The pieces were procured gradually, many before 1890, but there has never been any attempt at forming an "educational" collection, most of the articles were bought either for their good work or good design and not because of age; I started with the mania for having "pretty" things and think I have succeeded fairly well...My visits to Japan were holidays in a busy life and principally devoted to journeyings in the country, where often specimens of work could be obtained at prices far more moderate than in towns and treaty ports.