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  • Archive for November, 2011

    JOHN SHINNORS AT DOLAN’S DUBLIN ART AUCTION

    Monday, November 14th, 2011

    Badgers Underground by John Shinnors at Dolans. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

    THE Dolan’s auction of Irish art at the Radisson St. Helen’s Hotel, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin on November 27 at 12.30 p.m. features a large oil on linen by the Limerick artist John Shinnors entitled Badgers Underground.  It is estimated at 14,000-18,000.

    Cheese and Wine by David ffrench le Roy. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200.

    There is a collection of 40 works from the studio of John Kingerlee and 20 works from the studio of David ffrench le Roy all to be sold without reserve.

    The sale features work by Charles Harper, Jack Donovan, Henry Morgan, Arthur Maderson, Markey Robinson, Mark O’Neill, John Behan, John Coll, Cecil Maguire, Gladys Maccabe, Graham Knuttel, John Morris, Douglas Hutton, Thelma Mansfield, John Schwatschke and Norman Teeling among others.

    RARE IRISH ANTIQUE FURNITURE AT CORK SALE

    Saturday, November 12th, 2011

    A rare 19th century circular butler's tray at Lynes and Lynes. (click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD BUT IS UNDER NEGOTIATION.

    An Irish Georgian three pillar dining table is among the lots to feature at the Lynes and Lynes auction at Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork on November 26.  The auction features a fine collection of antique furniture from houses including Dunkathel House in Glanmire and Castlefreke, both in Co. Cork.

    The dining table and chairs from Dunkathel House at Lynes and Lynes. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THE DINING TABLE MADE 60,000, THE CHAIRS MADE 9,500.

    The Georgian dining table (40,000-60,000) is one of a number of antique furniture lots from Dunakethel House.  Another lot from the house, a rare circular butler’s tray with fittings, is estimated  at 20,000-25,000.  A large gilt over mantle mirror (320,000-30,000) was supplied to the house in 1837.  It was made by Richard Harris, carver and gilder of Hanover St., Cork.  Other lots bound to be of interest to serious collectors are a large fruitwood bookcase (40,000-60,000), a pair of Cork side tables with cross banded tops (30,000-50,000) and ten Georgian Cork dining chairs.

    See post on antiquesandartireland.com for November 2.

    NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR A PHOTOGRAPH

    Friday, November 11th, 2011

    Rhine II by Andreas Gursky, the world's most expensive photograph.

    There was a new world record for a photograph at auction on November 10 when Andreas Gursky’s image of the  River Rhine sold for $4.3 million at Christie’s in New York.  The German born photographer, whose works hang in major museums, said that Rhine II is his favorite picture;  “It says a lot using the most minimal means”.  The huge three meter wide glass mounted work was described by Christie’s as: “a dramatic and profound reflection on human existence and our relationship to nature on the cusp of the 21st century”.

    The previous record for a photograph was set when Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #97 was sold, also by Christie’s New York, in May for $3.89 million.  Gursky, who was born in 1955,  is particularly well known for his enormous landscape and architectural photography.

    FOUR PAINTINGS BY CLYFFORD STILL MAKE $114.1 MILLION

    Thursday, November 10th, 2011

    1949-A-No.I was the top lot. (Click on image to enlarge),

    A group of four paintings by the celebrated Abstract Expressionist Clyfford Still sold for a combined total of $114.1 million over an estimate of $51-71.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York.

    The group was led by  1949-A-No. 1 – one of the greatest examples of 20th century American painting – which was sought after by five bidders before fetching $61,682,500, more than double the previous record for the artist at auction.  All of the works came from the estate of Patricia Still.  Sold by the City of Denver they will benefit he endowment of the new Clyfford Still Museum, scheduled to open on November 18.

    See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for October 13 and September 21.

    AN IMPORTANT YEATS AT ADAMS IN DUBLIN IN DECEMBER

    Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

    Jazz Babies, a 1929 work by Jack B. Yeats at Adams. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE A HAMMER PRICE OF 480,000.

    An key transitional work by Jack B. Yeats  – Jazz Babies from 1929 – features at the James Adam sale of important Irish art in Dublin on December 5.  The pre-sale estimate is 500,000-700,000.  Adams achieved one million euro for A Fair Day, Mayo, a 1925 work by Yeats, at their sale in September. Jazz Babies demonstrates a move from his early realism to the more expressionist approach of his later work.   It was first shown at the RHA exhibition of 1929.

    Another Yeats in this sale, Evening Kildare (1936), once belonged to George Bernard Shaw. It is one of 14 works from the Beaulieu House collection.  They are being sold to finance continuing restoration of the finest and best preserved 17th century house in Ireland.

    Beaulieu House in Drogheda remains in the ownership of the family who built it in 1660/7.  Works from here include Mary Swanzy’s lush Gauguinesque view of a banana grove in Samoa dating from 1919/25.  When first exhibited in Paris in 1925 this work received positive reviews from New York Herald critic Georges Bal.  It is estimated at 20,000-30,000. There are two works by Norah McGuinness, a pair of early works by Dan O’Neill and art from Kitty Wilmer O’Brien, Cecil French Salkeld and Colin Middleton from Beaulieu in this auction.

    UPDATE:  Jazz Babies sold for 480,000 at hammer, Evening Kildare made 36,000 and the auction realised 2 million euro, with 80 per cent of lots on offer sold.

    EARL HAIG’S SPORTING SHOTGUNS AT BONHAMS IN DECEMBER

    Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

    The shotguns once owned by Sir Douglas Haig. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THESE FAILED TO REACH THEIR RESERVE AND WERE UNSOLD.

    A pair of 12 bore sporting shotguns once owned by Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928) will be sold at Bonhams in December. Makers J. Purdey & Sons confirmed that the guns were completed in 1887 and were formerly the property of Earl Haig. At the end of 1915, Field Marshal Haig was appointed head of the British forces on the Western Front.

    In February 1916, Germany began a campaign against the French at Verdun. To relieve pressure on the French the British began an attack along the Somme. On July 1 the battle started. It lasted five months.  The allies lost  620,000 men, mostly British. The German line was not broken. A few miles of territory was all that was achieved.

    Born into the whisky making family, Douglas Haig was a career soldier who served with distinction in the Boer War. He was aide-de-camp to King Edward VII between 1902 and 1904. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from December 1915 to the end of the war.  His sporting guns will be sold at Bonhams on December 13 and are estimated at £15,000 to £20,000.

    FIRST DAY COVER OF FIRST FLIGHT FROM SHANNON AT CO. LIMERICK AUCTION

    Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

    The year 1939 is clearly printed on the stamp under the image of the seaplane. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: IT MADE 90 EURO

    A 1939 first day cover  of the first flight from Shannon is due to come under the hammer at a sale in Co. Limerick on November  12.  Addressed to Nancy Wills Culpeper of Norfork, Virginia the envelope shows a four engined seaplane.  The image is repeated on the official stamp. It features as lot 589 in the sale by O’Donovan and Associates of Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick, on November 12 and is estimated at 40-60 euro.

    Situated at one of Europe’s most westerly points Shannon Airport is unique in the history of world aviation.  Before long haul aircraft came into being Ireland’s transatlantic airport was the re-fuelling gateway between Europe and America. It was the ideal stepping stone between the old world and the new.  From 1937 to 1945 Pan Am and BOAC used Botwood in north central Newfoundland as a terminal for their Atlantic Crossings. On June 27, 1939 the Yankee Clipper left Botwood for the first Trans-Atlantic passenger flight to the flying boat terminal at Foynes. Work began to drain the land on which Shannon Airport was built in 1936.  In 1942 it was named Shannon Airport and in 1945 the runway was extended to allow transatlantic flights to land.

    TIFFANY DIAMOND CLUSTER RING LEADS O’REILLY’S NOVEMBER AUCTION

    Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

    A diamond cluster ring by Tiffany is a highlight at  O’Reilly’s sale at Francis St., Dublin on November 16.  The 2.03 carat ring with the centre old cut diamond to a diamond surround and diamond shoulders mounted in platinum is signed Tiffany & Co.  In a Tiffany box it is estimated at 25,000-30,000.

    The sale features diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire and aquamarine rings, gold chains, bracelets and watches.  Here is a small selection:

    An Art Deco diamond panel bracelet signed Hennell. (24,000-26,000).An Art Deco diamond and sapphire plaque ring c1920 (10,000-12,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 25,000.

    A diamond target ring by Tiffany (25,000-30,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 25,000.

    A gold Kruggerand (1,200-1,400). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,150.

    A diamond and ruby cluster ring (5,500-6,500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,300.

    A 5.01 carat diamond solitaire (35,000-45,000). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

    A solitaire diamond ring (8,500-10,000). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

    This amethyst and diamond cluster ring is estimated at 1,600-1,800. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600.

     

    MOST IMPORTANT BRONTE MANUSCRIPT AT AUCTION IN 30 YEARS

    Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

    The first page of the Bronte manuscript, dated 1830. (Click on image to enlarge). Image copyright Sotheby's. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £690,850.

    AN unpublished notebook by Charlotte Brontë, the most important Brontë manuscript to appear at auction in more than thirty years, will highlight Sotheby’s sale of English Literature in London on December 15.  Set in ‘Glass Town’, the earliest fictional world that the four Brontë siblings created, and written by a fourteen-year-old Charlotte in miniature magazine format, The Young Men’s Magazine, Number 2, is dated August 1830.

    The Bronte manuscript held in the palm of a hand. (Click on image to enlarge). Image copyright Sotheby's.

    The story within contains a colourful tale of murder and madness which includes a precursor to one of the most famous scenes in Jane Eyre – the moment when Bertha, Mr Rochester’s insane wife seeks revenge by setting fire to the bed curtains in her husband’s chamber.

    Containing more than 4,000 words painstakingly crammed on to 19 pages, it is estimated to make  £200,000-300,000.

     

    UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £690,850.  This is a new record for at auction for a manuscript by Charlotte Bronte and a record at auction for any work by the Bronte sisters.  It was bought by La Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits, Paris, where it will be exhibited in January.

    THOMAS HARDY LETTER AND FIRST EDITION AT LIMERICK AUCTION

    Sunday, November 6th, 2011

    The Hardy letter. (Click on image to enlarge).

    The Hardy letter. Click on image to enlarge.

    A personal letter dictated by Thomas Hardy on Christmas Eve in 1912 comes up at Limerick Auction Rooms on Saturday, November 12. The letter touches on the subject of the death of his wife and the fact that he is unable to read or write clearly due to his eye illness. The sale of 500 lots contains a first 1913 edition by Thomas Hardy of A Changed Man and other stories published by MacMillan in 1913.

    The Hardy first edition (click to enlarge).

    Another rare lot is a World War I death plaque relating to Limerick nurse Elizabeth Grace Stewart. She was a staff nurse in Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service Reserve, who died on service in February 1916. The Stewarts were Limerick silversmiths.  Such plaques are common for men, but rare for women.

     

    UPDATE:  The letter sold for 260 plus fees.