SIR JOHN LAVERY RA RSA RHA (1856-1941) – SWITZERLAND [HAZEL AND ALICE], 1913 SOLD FOR €230,000 AT HAMMER
Switzerland, Hazel and Alice by Sir John Lavery made a hammer price of €230,000 over a top estimate of €220,000 at Whyte’s sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin this evening. Dooega, Achill Island, Co. Mayo by Paul Henry made €155,000 on the hammer. London Hospital, 1914 by Lavery made €64,000, The Goose Girl by Sean Keating made €62,000 over a top estimate of €35,000, On the Beach by Gerard Dillon made €34,000 over a top estimate of €30,000, Abstract Composition c1929 by Mainie Jellett made €27,000 over a top estimate of €15,000, The Desert Charge by Aloyosius O’Kelly made €16,000 at hammer over a top estimate of €15,000, Wicklow Mountains by Peter Collis made €7,000 over a top estimate of €5,000, Aquainted with Grief by Leo Whelan made €4,600 over a top estimate of €2,000 and Tonight we Dance by William Conor made €5,200 over a top estimate of €2,000.
SEÁN KEATING PRHA HRA HRSA (1889-1977) – THE GOOSE GIRL, 1917 made €62,000 at hammer.
Daniel O’Connell’s leather gun case is one of the more unusual lots at Marshs sale in Cork on December 9. The case, stamped with his name and Derrynane Abbey, is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. There is a similar estimate on a rare 19th century watercolour, The Strand at Tivoli, Cork by John E Bosanquet. Antique furniture on offer includes a Georgian four door breakfront bookcase, a four piece ivory inlaid bedroom suite, a set of Cork dining chairs, a Georgian inlaid chest and a French walnut ormolu mounted vitrine. The online only sale will be on view from December 6.
“The Strand at Tivoli Cork” attributed to John E. Bosanquet
A pair of 18th century or earlier marble busts of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra
A collection of 17th and 18th century marble busts are among part contents from Drumleck House, Howth – home of notable collectors John and Gertrude Hunt – at the Dublin and Provincial sale by Sheppards in Durrow next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. (December 5, 6 and 7). The Hunts lived at Drumleck for over 30 years from the 1950’s. Most of their collection was donated to the State and is now at the Hunt Museum in Limerick. Weathered outdoor busts of Julius Caesar wearing laurel leaves and Cleopatra with an asp from the garden at Drumleck are among the highlights. They are estimated at €2,000-€3,000.
The garden was decorated with ornaments and statuary from demolished properties of the Anglo-Irish Ascendency including a statue of Neptune from Ballinagarde House in Co. Limerick. This now lost statue was acquired by a member of the Croker family on his Grand Tour. John Hunt liked to claim it came from the workshop of Bernini in Rome. The statue has never been identified and informed collectors are still on the look out for the lost Bernini.
Sir William Orpen – Portrait of Mrs. Wertheimer (nee Trautz)
A Regency library table from the Merrion Square home of Sybil Connolly (€1,500-€2,500) and a collection of Regency furniture from the Ardsallagh Estate in Co. Tipperary are features of the auction.So is a re-discovered portrait of a lady identified as Jessica Wertheimer painted in 1904 by by William Orpen. Charles Wertheimer was Orpen’s leading patron and a portrait of him by Orpen was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1904. Portraits of Wertheimer and his one time companion Sarah Hammond by John Everett Millais are in the Musee d’Orsay. The Orpen at Sheppards, from the Macroom collection of Dr. Kevin Moynihan, is estimated at €30,000-€50,000.
An extremely rare 1st Period Belleek Carnation, one of only two known.
Among the lots of architectural salvage are the original double entrance doors to Bewley’s Cafe on Grafton St. in Dublin. This iconic cafe, extensively modified in the 1990’s, had originally been built to designs by Millar & Symes in 1927 with an extravagant Egyptian Revival facade. The doors are estimated at €3,000-€5,000. A rare Belleek carnation (€500-€800) is a collectors item too. It is believed to be one of only two in existence. The other is at the National Museum in Dublin. The sale features Meissen parrots, silver pheasants, Irish sculpture and art, 17th and 18th century Dutch art and furniture from the 18th to the 20th century including a large mid-century Italian cabinet by Smania. More than 1,200 lots will come under the hammer. Viewing gets underway today in Durrow.
An Irish George III statuary marble, Siena, Spanish brocatelle and inlaid marble chimney piece, circa 1780, attributed to George and Hill Darley
Based on new research this magnificent Irish chimney piece at Sotheby’s Albany private collection sale in London on December 6 can be attributed to George and Hill Darley. There is a shallow breakfront mantel and the moulded underside is carved with a bead-and-reel moulding and inlaid dentil detailing. The central tablet is carved with a classical vase with birds-head handles issuing berried-leaf swags tied to the corners with ribbons, flanked by inlaid panels with ribbon-tied bell-flower swage and rosettes with leaf and bead-and-reel carved mouldings.
The work of Darley brothers George and Hill, stonecutters and furniture designers in late-eighteenth century Dublin, can still be seen on the west front of Trinity College. They also had worked on several other notable late-eighteenth century commissions, including the poet William Ashford’s house Sandymount in County Dublin, and the residence of the Italian ambassador at Lucan House. A rare collection of their fine watercolour designs for chimneypieces is held at the Royal Irish Academy. The estimate for this chimneypiece is £120,000-£180,000.
There are seven known surviving deer antler chairs in China. The Palace Museum in the Forbidden City holds five, each uniquely designed. The deer antlers used in crafting these chairs were sourced from deer captured during royal hunting activities in the Qing Dynasty. The creation of thrones from deer antlers serves as a profound homage to Chinese equestrian roots, preserving the essence of Manchu heritage. Emperor Qianlong expressed his reverence for these chairs in a poem, stating, ‘Dare not sit upon it, ever in awe and admiration.’
The armchair pictured here comes up at Adams sale of Fine Asian Art on December 16 with an estimate of €85,000-€95,000. Dr. Wei Wang, newly appointed head of Adams Asian Art Department, explained that while this armchair is a late copy, it remains a rare item in the market. She holds a PhD in semiology from Panthéon-Assas Paris II University, and has demonstrated a passion for Asian Art throughout her academic and professional journey.
The upcoming Asian art sale at Adam’s bears Chinese title meaning ‘Ji Guang’s feathers.’ This metaphorical expression signifies precious relics or cultural artifacts that have endured, likened to the feathers of the mythical beast Ji Guang from ancient Chinese mythology. There are 456 lots across four sections, originating from China, the Himalayas, Vietnam, and Japan organised into several categories, including ceramics, jade and stones, accessories, bronzes, and paintings.
NATHANIEL HONE RHA (1831-1917) – STUDY: TREE IN COURTYARD. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER
The December art selling season kicks off at Whyte’s evening sale of Important Irish Art on December 4, now on view in Dublin. This surprisingly modern looking scorching study of a tree in a courtyard by Nathaniel Hone, who died in his eighties in 1917, is undated but in excellent condition. It was exhibited at the Gorry Gallery exhibition on Hone in 2002. The oil on board is estimated at €4,000-€6,000. Artists in the auction include John Lavery, Paul Henry, William Orpen, Letitia Hamilton, William Leech, George Russell, Seán Keating, Mary Swanzy, Mainie Jellett, Gerard Dillon, George Campbell, Louis le Brocquy, Patrick Scott, Pauline Bewick, Tony O’Malley and Rowan Gillespie. The catalogue is online.
This watercolour by Mildred Anne Butler comes up as lot 14 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online art auction which runs until December 5. It is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. A broad range of Irish artists, from Nano Reid to Jack B Yeats, feature in this auction with oils, gouaches, watercolours, lithographs, etchings, pencil drawings and mixed media works. The most expensively estimated work, at €3,000-€5,000, is The Flash Frigate, a pen and Indian ink on paper work by Jack B. Yeats from 1911.
Girl with Bird by Gerard Dillon is among the highlights at Gormley’s sale of Irish art on December 5. The auction of more than 240 lots and will include art by Nano Reid, Graham Knuttel, Cecil Maguire, Neil Shawcross, Hans Iten, Carol Ann Waldron, Markey Robinson, William Conor and Elizabeth Cope. The Dillon is estimated at €9,200-€13,800 in a sale expected to realise a total of €160,000-€220,000. It will, according to Oliver Gormley, round off what has been a very positive year for Irish art.
This imposing entrance sculpture of a Great Dane on a plinth – one of a pair – is lot 261 at Sheppards Dublin and Provincial sale in Durrow on December 5, 6 and 7. They are modelled on the hunting hound of Lord Kingsale, John de Courcy, who was born in 1717 at Old Head Castle, Kinsale in Co. Cork. The pair is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. The auction of 1,189 lots includes contents from Drumleck House, Howth, Co. Dublin, Ardsallagh House, Co. Tipperary and other important clients. The catalogue is online.
This Ralph Lauren duke bar cabinet customised for a super yacht in the South of France is the top lot at Victor Mee’s winter decorative interiors sale on December 30. The 1930’s inspired piece styled in rosewood with polished stainless steel trim has features that include a removable stainless steel tray on top and a flat silver liner. The second of three drawers has a flip down front with black mirror surface and there are storage shelves on the end doors. The estimate is €4,000-€8,000. There are 632 lots in the auction including an 18 branch Waterford Crystal chandelier, a watercolour of a Connemara cottage by Percy French, a walnut chest of drawers with brass mounts and a burr walnut four door secretaire.
