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  • Posts Tagged ‘Matthews of Oldcastle’

    AUCTIONEERS MUST ADAPT TO THE NEW REALITY

    Sunday, April 19th, 2020

    Adapt or perish might well be the mantra for an art and antiques market in a state of flux.  Tough times are sending a strong signal to the tough to get going.  The future will be different.  The pandemic has accelerated the movement towards online sales.  Change has come quickly. Locally, nationally and internationally many auctioneers who had previously featured a mix of online and in house sales are adapting fast to a market where the uncertain future is rapidly becoming less short term. Many report that website traffic is busier than ever before.  Those auctioneers who took the plunge immediately after the lockdown have been finding significant success. True, many auctions have been postponed. As of now the schedule of upcoming sales in Ireland is a bit thin.  In a highly varied market place it is not a case of one size fits all.  Some lots lend themselves to online sales better than others. Those that have gone ahead, often in a revised manner, are demonstrating that it can work, in some cases marvellously well. Julien’s achieved spectacular results with their Beatles online only sale.  The top lot at an online auction originally to have taken place at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York was Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics to “Hey Jude”. This sold for $910,000 over an estimate of $160,000-180,000 in an auction which attracted a global audience of registered bidders.

    Contemporary art,  the most speculative segment of the market, has taken a hit in the lockdown.  This proved true at Morgan O’Driscoll’s sale when three works by Jeff Koons failed to find buyers.  Koons is one of the world’s most expensive living artists.  Damien Hirst also failed to sell. Perhaps the time has come to put your faith, and investment money, in Old Masters. Morgan O’Driscoll did have a highly successful sale.  The top lot, Paul Henry’s Celtic Cross in a West of Ireland landscape made €105,000 at hammer.  Other top hammer prices were: George Barret,  Landscape with Figures, €36,000; Gerard Dillon,Shawl, €24,000; Daniel O’Neill, Choosing Flowers, €24,000;  Paul Henry, Mountain Landscape with lake and road €22,000; Tony O’Malley, Clare Island Greys, €19,000;  Louis le Brocquy, William Butler Yeats, €18,000; Hughie O’Donoghue, Medusa Hold €17,000; William Conor, Forty Winks, €14,000; John Shinnors, Roxboro Road bus stop €14,000; Donald Teskey, Longshore IV.  €14,000; Norah McGuinness, The Black Swan, €14,000; Spring Bogland, Ballinaboy by Kenneth Webb €12,000;   Sir John Lavery,  Portrait of William Burton Harris €12,000; Abstract Composition by William Scott €10,500; Patrick O’Reilly, Pegasus, €10,000 and John Behan, Wild Swans at Coole, €9,500.

    Aidan Foley was pleased with two days of online sales at Sixmilebridge and plans more on the May Bank Holiday weekend.  Among his main lots were Spring Evening by Arthur Maderson which made €2,100 at hammer and The Stars Serenade by Annie Robinson which made €1,350.At Matthews 437 lot online sale, which lasted from 6.30 pm until nearly midnight on Tuesday, a Zambian emerald ring made €17,200 at hammer and a sapphire and diamond target ring made €10,000. All of which goes to suggest that those auctioneers who are adapting to the new realities are not perishing.

    Shawl by Gerard Dillon made €24,000 at hammer

    THREE ONLINE AUCTIONS IN IRELAND TODAY

    Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

    Morgan O’Driscoll, Aidan Foley and Damien Matthews will all hold online auctions today. The biggest of the sales is the Irish and International Art auction by Morgan O’Driscoll, who has some big ticket items on offer including Celtic Cross in a west of Ireland landscape by Paul Henry (€150,000-250,000), Whik Wood by Ivon Hitchens (€60,000-90,000), Landscape with Figures by George Barret (€60,000-90,000), Altar by Damien Hirst (€17,500-25,000), Roxboro Road Bus Stop V by John Shinnors (€15,000-20,000), Spring Bogland, Ballinaboy by Kenneth Webb (€10,000-15,000); Abstract Composition by William Scott (€6,000-9,000) and three pieces by Jeff Koons, one of the most expensive living artists in the world. They are Balloon Rabbit (Red), Balloon Monkey (Blue) and Balloon Swan (Yellow). All date to 2017. They are all from numbered editions of 999 in porcelain painted with chrome and published by Bernaudaud, Limoges, France.

    Day two of Aidan Foley’s sale at Sixmilebridge today will include Persian rugs, art, antique furniture and collectibles. Matthews of Oldcastle,  Co. Meath will have an online sale with 390 lots of jewellery, gold, silver, watches and Oriental lots at 6.30 pm.  Estimates range from €20-20,000.

    Balloon Swan (Yellow) by Jeff Koons. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A HOLIDAY SALE AT MATTHEWS IN KELLS

    Friday, December 27th, 2019

    More than 1,100 lots will come under the hammer at the annual holiday auction by Matthews in Kells, Co. Meath on December 29 and 30. Viewing gets underway today. The catalogue is online.

    A pair of Tiffany dragonfly lamps (200-300). UPDATE: THESE MADE 190 AT HAMMER

    A COCKTAIL SHAKER AND A TEMPERANCE HALL

    Saturday, July 27th, 2019

    What better venue for an antique auction than the The Temperance Hall in Kinsale, Co. Cork with its old fashioned name? In fact the new owner of lot  287 could put their newly acquired Art Deco silver plated cocktail shaker (estimated at 30-50) to good use by concocting that classic blend of bourbon and rye known far and wide as an Old Fashioned.All set for another good night out in Kinsale then at the first session of a two part auction operated jointly by Castlemartyr based Ryan Auctioneers and Matthews of Oldcastle, Co. Meath.  The sales are at 6 pm on July 29 and noon on July 30 with more than 800 lots of antique furniture, jewellery, collectibles and art due to come under the hammer.The opening lots, including a Persian rug, an articulated skeleton clock, an ormolu gilded tazza of Rococo form and an ethnic carved figure of river people offer a flavour of the variety on offer.  This is an auction with all kinds of everything.Among the more expensively estimated furniture lots are a George II red walnut side table with carved shell decoration (5,000-8,000), a William IV dining table (2,000-3,000), a mid Victorian credenza with brass mounts (3,500-5,000), a Rococo form bureau bookcase (700-1,200), a Georgian mahogany bureau (600-900), a console table with brass grill (1,000-1,500) and a set of 12 Chippendale style dining chairs (500-800), There are books, including works of Cork interest, Oriental and European porcelain, lamps, artworks, silver, plate, jewellery and collectibles among 485 lots in the opening evening session. Among them is an emerald and diamond cluster ring (8,000-10,000), a white gold jade and diamond cluster ring (4,500-6,500) and a pair of Colombian emerald cluster earrings (3,000-5,000). The catalogue is online at www.easyliveauction.com  Where but Kinsale would you shop for a cocktail shaker in a Temperance Hall?

    Art Deco silver plated cocktail shaker UPDATE: THIS MADE 70 EURO AT HAMMER

    OVER 1,000 LOTS IN DUBLIN CONVENT CLEARANCE SALE

    Friday, February 22nd, 2019
    Over 1,000 lots will come under the hammer in Dublin on March 5 and 6 when Matthews of Oldcastle offer contents from Our Lady Queen of Peace convent and nursing home off Garville Avenue, Rathgar.  This is a clearance auction which will include vintage items and antiques, medical equipment, the residual contents of a house on nearby Temple Road and a variety of other vendors including Oriental lots from an American collector.  Orwell Private is refurbishing and modernising the facility.  Viewing gets underway on March 2.

    This figure is lot 541

    A consul table

    A HOUSE CONTENTS SALE IN CO. WESTMEATH

    Thursday, May 4th, 2017

    Joristown Lodge

    More than 700 lots will come under the hammer at a house contents auction in Co. Westmeath on May 14.  Matthews of Oldcastle will hold an on the premises sale at Joristown Lodge, Killucan, Co. Westmeath on May 14 for the representatives of the late Col. William Harvey-Kelly. He took part in the D-Day landings and hunted with the Westmeath Foxhounds for over 70 years.

    The sale will include some good tack.  Among the lots on offer are an Irish George III red walnut side table (1,000-1,500), an Indian silver centrepiece (300-500), an Irish William IV four door bookcase (4,000-7,000), a Regency gilded chariot mirror (600-900), a William IV cast iron roll top horse trough (1,000-1,500) and a carved over mantle mirror (1,200-1,800).

    CURIOSITIES AT MATTHEWS AUCTION IN CO. MEATH

    Thursday, April 13th, 2017

    With everything from an original Victorian deep Sea diver’s helmet to a 1.2 carat Tiffany solitaire ring from a broken engagement to a small library of books and a Victorian carved ivory penis the weekend antique and interiors sale at Matthews of Oldcastle, Co. Meath on April 22 and 23  is brimful of curiosity.  Over 1,100 lots will come under the hammer.  The ivory lot is pithily described as a forget-me-not in from an old Anglo-Irish military family.  The catalogue is due to go online on April 14.  Here is a small selection:

    Victorian deep Sea diver’s helmet.

    Victorian carved ivory penis

    Two antique African bronzes

    A SALE IN OLDCASTLE ON DECEMBER 30

    Friday, December 23rd, 2016

    With everything from a cased taxidermy pheasant to a selection of mirrors, antique furniture, Waterford Crystal, jewellery and a variety of collectibles the sale by Matthews of Oldcastle on December 30 offers something from everyone in the immediate aftermath of Christmas.  The catalogue, which is online, lists 588 lots, but Matthews say that viewing is advisable as there is likely to be late entries.  Here is a small selection:

    Silver Condiment Set with Bristol Blue Liners (90-120)

    Silver Condiment Set with Bristol Blue Liners (90-120)

    Antique Giltwood Carved Mirror (600-900)

    Antique Giltwood Carved Mirror (600-900)

    Regency Crossbanded Fold Over Games Table  (400-700)

    Regency Crossbanded Fold Over Games Table (400-700)

    Cased Taxidermy Pheasant (150-250)

    Cased Taxidermy Pheasant (150-250)

    TWO DAY HOUSE CONTENTS SALE AT KILTERNAN LODGE

    Thursday, October 27th, 2016

    Kilternan Lodge.

    Kilternan Lodge.

    There will be a two day house contents sale at Kilternan Lodge, Kilternan, Co. Dublin – home of the late Don Carroll of tobacco manufacturers Carroll Industries – on October 29 and 30 at 1 p.m. on each day. Matthews of Oldcastle will conduct a sale with 1,250 lots in total.  Around 650 lots, many with reasonable estimates, will come under the hammer on day one.  Born in Cork in 1927 Don Carroll, who died in 2000, was an influential figure in Irish industry and banking and served as governor of the Bank of Ireland.  The house (pictured right) has been bought by the interior decorator Helen Turkington who plans to refurbish it.

    WH Auden Epistle to a Godson and Ted Hughes Selected Works Both First Editions (60-90)

    WH Auden Epistle to a Godson and Ted Hughes Selected Works Both First Editions (60-90)

    Edwardian Mounted Lioness Fully Grown About to Pounce ~(4,000-7,000)

    Edwardian Mounted Lioness Fully Grown About to Pounce ~(4,000-7,000)

    Irish Georgian Copper Measuring Jug with Dublin Makers Plaque (100-150)

    Irish Georgian Copper Measuring Jug with Dublin Makers Plaque (100-150)

    Marble Mounted Figural Bronze Mantle Clock (1,000-1,500)

    Marble Mounted Figural Bronze Mantle Clock (1,000-1,500)

    A William IV cabinet (700-1,200)

    A William IV cabinet (700-1,200)

    MORE THAN 700 LOTS AT OLDCASTLE SALE THIS WEEK

    Monday, December 28th, 2015

    More than  700 lots are due to come under the hammer at Matthews Christmas antique auction in Oldcastle, Co. Meath on December 30.  Among them is an antique gilded console table and mirror (1,000-1,500),  a mahogany framed hump back settee on claw and ball supports (300-500), a pair of bow front Art Deco bedside lockers (300-500) and a pair of carved gilt wood pedestals with marble tops (400-700).  The catalogue is online.

    Antique marble console table with mirror (1,000-1,500).

    Antique marble console table with mirror (1,000-1,500).

    A pair of Art Deco lockers (300-500).

    A pair of Art Deco lockers (300-500).

    A hump back settee (300-500).

    A hump back settee (300-500).

    A pair of carved gilt wood pedestals (400-700).

    A pair of carved gilt wood pedestals (400-700).