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The Irish silver dish ring which made a new world record at Bonhams. (Click on image to enlarge),

A new world record was set at Bonhams in London when a George III Irish silver dish ring sold for £26,875.  The price is inclusive of buyer’s premium. The piece had been estimated at £7,000-9,000.  The auction house would say only that it was sold to an overseas buyer.  It is the most expensive item of its type ever sold at auction.

A detail from the record breaking Irish silver dish ring. (Click to enlarge).

Made by Charles Townsend of Dublin it is decorated in the Chinoisere manner.  It bears arms engraved on a lozenge for Lady Elizabeth Cox, daughter of Hugh, 1st Baron Massy of Duntrileague, and widow of the Revd. Sir Michael Cox, 3rd Baronet of Castletown, County Kilkenny who died in 1772.

The waisted sides are pierced with fine fretwork. There is a continuous band of pierced and engraved decoration depicting a satyr atop a plinth, a “flaming” scrollwork urn, two gentleman; one wearing Chinese attire peering out of a pagoda window and the other perched on a watery scroll.  Dish rings are used to prevent hot dishes making contact with the dining table.  This one weighs just 11 ozs.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for October 11)

A page from Tom Hales' autograph book. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 960 PLUS FEES.

Illustrated here are two examples from one of the more unusual lots  at the sale at Limerick Auction Rooms next December 10. The autograph book belonging to Tom Hales is an unhappy remnant from modern Irish history.

The bitter Irish Civil war of 1922-23,  accompanied by executions, internments and burnings, was waged by those pro and anti the treaty that established the Irish Free State. It separated nationalists who had earlier been united in their fight for freedom against the British and left Irish society divided.  The Fianna Fail and Fine Gael political parties are direct descendants of opposing sides in the war.

Another page from the book. (Click to enlarge),

Tom Hales was a member of the Irregulars, or anti-treaty forces.  He was interned at Harepark Camp at the Curragh in Co. Kildare. His autograph book, which relates to various dates in 1923, is signed with notes, poems and comments from fellow internees on 57 pages.  It is estimated to make between 2,000 and 5,000.

The first day of Mealy’s two day winter fine and decorative arts sale on December 6/7 features a varied selection of decorative arts, glass, silver, jewellery, Oriental art, Tribal art and light fittings.  Day one features 631 lots. Here is a small selection (you can click on any image to enlarge it):

An early 18th century Qing Dynasty enamel or bronze basin (3,000-5,000). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

A 19th century famille rose vegetable tureen and cover with monogram and Arabic description. (300-500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 540.

An Irish Provincial silver snuff box by Joseph Johns, Limerick c1730 is estimated at 2,000-3,000. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000.

This c1800 Irish mould blown decanter is estimated at 200-300. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

The record breaking Qianlong period snuff bottle.

A tiny snuff bottle  set a new world record when it sold at Bonhams in Hong Kong for £2,108,333 on November 28. The famille-rose enamelled glass ‘European-subject’ snuff bottle made in the Imperial Palace workshops in Beijing during the Qianlong period (1736-1795) measures only 8.07cm high. It was sold to an Asian collector for more than five times the estimate

This was the largest snuff bottle of all recorded Imperial Palace enamels on glass. It is set apart by the distinctly European, elaborate trompe l’oeil frames around all four panels. The main panels depict elegant European  ladies, while the subsidiary ones are of Chinese landscapes.  The influence of missionaries in the court arts of glassmaking and enamelling was significant during the first half of the eighteenth century.  At the time this bottle was made European and Chinese court artists worked side by side at the Imperial Palace workshops.