Irish George II mahogany side table made €30,000 at hammer
Irish furniture of the mid-18th century can be identified by its specific idiosyncrasies, and in particular with tables and stands, where the frieze and aprons served as the area that furniture makers were able to show off their imagination and skill. Scallop shells were some of the most prominent carvings used as decoration on tables from this period. It emerged as an important part of the lexicon of Irish furniture and decorative arts in the 18th century. The pair of doves which also accompany the shell in the frieze of this table further expressed the symbolism of love, peace and harmony. They are position in opposing directions with wings spread, creating a wonderful balance and sense of movement to the carving. The remainder of the frieze is embellished with fleur-de-lys, foliage and rosettes. This Irish c1750 mahogany side table made a hammer price of €30,000 at the James Adam Townley Hall sale today against an estimate of €30,000-€40,000.
A portrait of Sir Francis Wyndham by John Michael Wright (1617-1694) last auctioned at the Adare Manor sale in 1982 made €73,000 at hammer; a half length portrait of Queen Mary attributed to Sir Godfrey Knellar made €22,000; a still life by Nicola Cassisa, Naples (1680-1730) made €15,000; a set of 12 George II silver dinner plates from Drogheda House, Dublin by by Robert Calderwood c1737 made €14,000; a set of four large George III silver candlesticks by Richard Williams, Dublin c1765 made €14,000; a Dutch Book of Hours made €12,000; a George IV twin pedestal partners desk made €11,000; a 19th century Continental School painting of a Red Ibis made €11,000; a French ormolu mounted commode made €11,000; an 18th century Irish mahogany side table made €8,000; a large Donegal carpet made €10,000, a Regency brass inlaid sofa table made €10,000 and a Victorian silver inkwell in the form of a donkey carrying panniers made €11,000.
This oil on canvas by Genieve Figgis is lot 20 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current Irish and International art sale, which runs until October 22. The estimate is 25,000-35,000. Work by this Dublin born Wicklow based artist has been exhibited widely in Europe, the US and worldwide. Among the artists in the sale are William Scott, Sean Scully, Frank Auerbach, Callum Innes, Jack Butler Yeats, Roderic O’Conor, Hughie O’Donoghue and Norah McGuinness.
This Irish George II carved and figured mahogany drop leaf dining table is at Sotheby’s is at Sotheby’s sale of Classic Design, Silver and Ceramics which closes in New York on October 16. The estimate is $5,000-$7,000. A c1760 Irish silver soup tureen and cover in the same sale is estimated at $4,000-$6,000.
A Second War St. Nazaire raid and Colditz “home-run” D.S.C. and Bar group of seven awarded to Commander W. L. “Billie” Stephens of Northern Ireland sold for a hammer price of £48,000 at Noonans latest sale of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria.
Christopher Mellor-Hill, Head of Client Liaison at Noonans, said: Medals relating to Colditz and the heroic stories of those who tried to escape always attract strong interest. The story of William Lawson “Billie” Stephens, who was born in Holywood, Northern Ireland in August 1911 into a prominent Ulster family is no different. His Second War Distinguished Service Cross was awarded for his gallantry during both the St. Nazaire raid and Colditz. He had been taken prisoner after his own launch was set on fire, however he endeavoured to make a successful bid for freedom with three others from the infamous Colditz Castle in October 1942 during a breakout conducted by Douglas Bader that culminated with the four men squeezing naked through a narrow vent! It was being sold as part of a deceased estate.”
Patrick Hennessy – The Storm Lantern UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,000 AT HAMMER
Art by Colin Middleton, John Shinnors, Gerard Dillon and Donald Teskey will lead de Veres online auction of Irish art which runs until October 15. There is a good selection of work including a still life titled The Storm Lantern by Patrick Hennessy, estimated at €5,000-€8,000. This was exhibited at the RHA in 1978.
A sizzling painting by Sean Scully will lead Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International online art auction which runs until October 22. Wall Dark Green (2021) is typical of Scully’s newer works in the continually expanding Wall of Light series, which are noted for an intensity of colour. This one is estimated at €500,000-€700,000. The sale is on view in Skibbereen on October 12, 13 and 14 and at the RDS in Dublin from October 18-21.
A pair of Irish George II style carved console tables with hairy paw feet UPDATE; THESE WERE UNSOLD
Silver dinner plates from a grand house on Sackville St., a commode decorated in the neo-classical manner of Angelica Kauffman, a Wyndham family portrait from Adare Manor, an Irish Regency chiffonier almost certainly made in Cork, a very rare Huguenot silver beer mug and even a disgraced cardinal feature at Adam’s spectacular Country House Collection auction next week.
Viewing starts today for this annual auction mostly drawn from country houses in Ireland such as Doneraile, Hamwood and Mount Stewart in the splendid surroundings of Townley Hall, a Georgian country house near Drogheda. The auction will take place over two days, with an online sale on Monday October 14 and a live sale at Adams at St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin on the following day.
This extra special sale is a highlight of the annual antique and fine art calendar in Ireland. With estimates from €100 to €40,000 the emphasis is on quality and rarity which underlines something always re-enforced on these pages; quality is by no means the exclusive preserve of the super rich, it is for anyone with a discriminating eye.
A 1727 Irish beer jug in the Huguenot style UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Among various highlights on offer is a set of 12 George II silver dinner plates from Drogheda House, Sackville St., Dublin made around 1737 by one of the most celebrated silversmiths of the day Robert Calderwood (€15,000-€20,000). The same estimate is on a George I Irish beer mug made by Matthew Walker c1727. The elegant style of this silver mug was introduced into Ireland by the Huguenots and there is a similar example in the Smithsonian Institution.
A 19th century demi-lune commode complete with painted roundels in the manner of Angelica Kauffman is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. So is a pair of Irish George II style marble top console tables with rectangular marble tops and terminating in block mounted hairy paw feet.
A 1671 portrait of Sir Francis Wyndham, 1st Baronet of Trent in a suit of armour by John Michael Wright (1617-1694) is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. He is associated with Adare and the Quin and Wyndham families and this painting was in the Adare Manor sale in the 1980’s. In the early 19th century the Pain brothers James and George were commissioned to begin redesigning the house into a manor. Their lasting legacy is the spectacular gallery at Adare, then considered to be the largest domestic room in Ireland.
Samuel West – Cardinal Wolsey leaving London after his Disgrace UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Cardinal Wolsey leaving London after his Disgrace by the Cork artist Samuel West (1810-1867) was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1841, the British Institution in 1842 and the Cork Art Union in 1843. Samuel West was born in Cork in 1810 to a bookseller father who had moved from London and is thought to have started his art education in Cork before moving to Rome to study. The rise of the English statesman and Catholic cardinal Thomas Wolsey coincided with the accession of Henry VIII. He fell out of favour after failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, retreated to York and died of natural causes following an accident when returning to London to answer charges of treason.
Wolsey lived at the Palace of Whitehall. This was taken over by Henry as his principal residence in the capital and served as seat of English monarchs until destroyed by fire in 1698. Cardinal Wolsey was in a non canonical marriage with Joan Larke of Yarmouth and they had two children. A woman and two children are featured in the painting, now estimated at €20,000-€30,000.
An Irish Regency rosewood and brass inlaid chiffonier has a Dublin trade label but is thought likely to be a Cork piece because of features characteristic of Cork workshops in the 18th and 29th centuries. These include shaped rope twist sides, spiral reeded columns, reeded edge and bun feet. The estimate is €8,000-€12,000. A pair of Waterford oval cut glass mirrors with blue and clear glass border is also estimated at €8,000-€12,000.
If you are unable to make it to Townley Hall the catalogue for this large and impressive sale is online.
An Irish Regency chiffonier, probably made in Cork. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
FRANÇOIS-XAVIER LALANNE (1927-2008) – Le Très Grand Ours, 2009 – CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2024
There was a world record price of $6.1 million for this bear by Francois-Xavier Lalanne at Christie’s in New York last night. The first solely dedicated sale to François-XavierLalanne from the collection of his daughter, Dorothée achieved nearly $59 million with 14 lots making more than $1 million and four records set. The 70-lot auction lasted more than four hours with lively bidding from phones, online, and the room. The sale made almost 300% of its low estimate, with 97% of lots surpassing their high estimates. The sale total of $58.9 million more than doubled the high estimate. There was global participation with 54% of bidders and buyers from the Americas, 15% Asia Pacific and 31% from Europe.
FRANÇOIS-XAVIER LALANNE (1927-2008) – Lapin à Vent de Tourtour, 2002 sold for a world record of $2,954,000
Gem set and diamond bracelet, Eugène Fontenay, circa 1870
Royal jewellery from the collection of Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria (1861-1948) will highlight Sotheby’s Royal and Noble jewels sale in Geneva on November 13. With 114 lots, spanning nearly a century in the history of the family of Tsar Ferdinand of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, the collection is testimony to Tsar Ferdinand’s exquisite taste, nurtured by his mother, Princess Clementine of Orleans, daughter of the last French King Louis Philippe – herself an avid jewellery collector.
Along with pieces owned by Tsar Ferdinand and heirlooms from his mother there ius jewellery passed down through generations of the Tsar’s immediate lineage as well as pieces made for his children – especially his daughters Princesses Eudoxia and Nadezha.
The top lot is a yellow gold tie pin with a fleur-de-lis motif set with a 2.08 carat pear-shaped Fancy Gray-Blue diamond and four coloured diamonds, including a 0.65 carat Fancy Pink diamond, a 0.52 Fancy Green diamond, a 0.47 carat Fancy Deep Brown-Orange diamond and a 0.13 carat Fancy Intense Green-Yellow diamond. The estimate is US$500,000$700,000. The bracelet illustrated above is estimated at $40,000-$60,000.
Fancy Gray-Blue diamond and coloured diamond tie pin, early 20th century
Stephen McKenna PPRHA, 1939-2017 – City by the Lake. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600 AT HAMMER
This 2006 oil on canvas by Stephen McKenna is lot 25 at de Veres Irish art sale online until October 15. The estimate is 3,000-5,000. The sale features work by Colin Middleton, Donald Teskey, Mainie Jellett, John Shinnors, Geraldine O’Neill, Gerard Dillon, Patrick Hennessy, Camille Souter, Cecil King and many more artists. There is sculpture by Cathy Carman, Sonja Landweer, John Coen, Sandra Bell, Anna Campbell, Michael Foley and Peter Killeen. Viewing is now underway at de Veres on Kildare St. in Dublin and the catalogue is online.
