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    • Archive for May, 2013

    MOST PERFECT DIAMOND MAKES $26.7 MILLION: NAMED THE WINSTON LEGACY

    Thursday, May 16th, 2013
    This pear-shaped, D colour, Type IIA, flawless, diamond of 101.73 sold for $26.7 million and was named the Winston Legacy.

    This pear-shaped, D colour, Type IIA, flawless, diamond of 101.73 carats sold for $26.7 million and was named the Winston Legacy. IMAGE courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2013.

    THE most perfect diamond ever offered at auction made $26.7 million at Christie’s in Geneva last night.  The flawless, pear shaped D colour 101.73 carat diamond was bought by Harry Winston and will be named the Winston Legacy.  The price represents a world record for a colourless diamond.

    The record breaking sale brought in $102 million and set records for diamonds, pearls and sapphires. This was the highest result ever for a various owner jewellery auction at Christie’s. There were world records for The Star of Kashmir, a cushion shaped Kashmir sapphire of 19.88 carats which made $3.48 million US; for a single strand natural pearl necklace, which made $8.45 million US; for a pair of natural pearl drop shaped ear pendants which made $2.44 million US and for a fancy red diamond ring which sold for $3.52 million US.  This is a world record price for a red diamond.

    More than 20 lots sold for over $1 million.  There was 147 buyers from 31 countries across five continents.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 13, 2013).

    Posted in AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES | Comments Off on MOST PERFECT DIAMOND MAKES $26.7 MILLION: NAMED THE WINSTON LEGACY

    RECORDS FOR NEWMAN AND RICHTER AT SOTHEBY’S

    Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
    Barnett Newman's Onement VI sold for $43,845,000. (Click on image to enlarge).

    Barnett Newman’s Onement VI sold for $43,845,000. (Click on image to enlarge).

    Records were set for Barnett Newman, Gerhard Richter, Nate Lowman, Dan Colen and a sculpture by Yves Klein at Sotheby’s $294 million contemporary evening art sale in New York last night.  The sale was led by Barnett Newman’s Onement VI which sold for $43,845,000 after competition from five bidders. This doubled a world record price set last May at Christie’s. 

    Richter’s Domplatz Mailand (Cathedral Square, Milan) sold for $37,125,000 – a record for Richter and for any living artist at auction.  The global nature of the art market was underlined in a sale with collectors from 35 countries registered to bid, 20% of them new to either Sotheby’s or the category.  Works by Francis Bacon and Jeff Koons were among 11 of the 64 works on offer which failed to sell.

    The auction featured eight works donated by artists and foundations to raise money for the Whitney Museum’s new building at the High Line.  They made $11,806,000, nearly double the high estimate of $6.6 million.  

    A sculpture by Yves Klein made with sea sponges drenched in his trademark blue pigment sold for $22 million.  Nate Lowman’s “Black Escalade” made $665,000 over a high estimate of $450,000.  The artist was born in 1979, as was Dan Colen, whose 53rd and 3rd sold for $1,085,000.

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for April 2 and April 20, 2013).

    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS | Comments Off on RECORDS FOR NEWMAN AND RICHTER AT SOTHEBY’S

    MOST IMPORTANT PRINTED BOOK TO BE OFFERED THIS CENTURY AT CHRISTIE’S

    Monday, May 13th, 2013
    VERGILIUS MARO, Publius (70-19 %SB.C.). Opera (Bucolica, Georgica, Aeneid, with argumenta). Venice: Vindelinus de Spira, 1470.

    VERGILIUS MARO, Publius (70-19 B.C.). Opera (Bucolica,
    Georgica, Aeneid, with argumenta). Venice: Vindelinus de Spira, 1470. UPDATE: IT MADE $1,181,875

    BURGES, William (1827-1881), a collection of illuminated letters and drawings, in English.

    BURGES, William (1827-1881), a collection of illuminated letters and drawings, in English.

    THE most important early printed book to be offered this century – Virgil’s Opera printed in 1470 – comes up at Christie’s in London on June 12.  The Aeneid by Virgil (70-19 B.C.) is the foundation stone of western literature. Christie’s say this is the earliest edition a collector could ever aspire to own. It is the textually superior second edition, printed in Venice in 1470 within a year of the beginning of printing in that city. An indication of its rarity is that the last copy to come on the market was sold in 1920 and was lacking nine leaves.  This newly discovered copy, complete and printed on vellum, is estimated at £500,000-800,000.

    Christie’s sale of Valuable Printed Books and Manuscripts features a pre-publication edition of Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.  This copy was presented to Sir Fitzroy Maclean, the soldier, writer, and politician, who is considered to be an inspiration to Ian Fleming for the character of James Bond, and is estimated at £18,000-25,000.  A telegram sent by Lenin on April 6, 1917 to announce his departure from exile in Switzerland  to French socialist Henri Guilbeaux in Geneva is estimated at £20,000-30,000.
    The sale will feature a collection of illuminated letters by Englishman William Burges, the leading 19th century gothic revivalist architect and designer whose first major commission was St. Finn Barre’s Cathedral in Cork.  The earliest known surviving works by Burges, written when he was just 13 years old, are estimated at £7,000-9,000.

    Posted in AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES | Comments Off on MOST IMPORTANT PRINTED BOOK TO BE OFFERED THIS CENTURY AT CHRISTIE’S

    JEWELLERY AND WATCHES AT JAMES ADAM

    Monday, May 13th, 2013

    THE auction of fine jewellery and watches at James Adam in Dublin on May 22 comprises 225 lots with everything from solitaire diamond rings to pendants, brooches, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, dress pins and watches to tempt collectors.   Here is a small selection. The catalogue is on-line.

    A 3.2 carat diamond single stone ring is estimated at 15,000-20,000. (Click on image to enlarge).

    A 3.2 carat diamond single stone ring is estimated at 15,000-20,000. (Click on image to enlarge).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 16,000.

    A lady's 18 carat gold and diamond Tank Americaine by Cartier (8,000-10,000). (Click on image to enlarge).

    A lady’s 18 carat gold and diamond Tank Americaine by Cartier (8,000-10,000). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000

    A pair of Art Deco diamond earrings is estimated at 400-600. (Click to enlarge).

    A pair of Art Deco diamond earrings is estimated at 400-600. (Click to enlarge).  UPDATE: THESE MADE 400

    A 19th century diamond bracelet (4,000-6,000). (Click on image to enlarge).

    A 19th century diamond bracelet (4,000-6,000). (Click on image to enlarge).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000

    a 4.95 carat diamond ring is estimated at 25,000-35,000. (Click on image to enlarge).

    a 4.95 carat diamond ring is estimated at 25,000-35,000. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE 25,000

    A multi-coloured gem set bracelet is estimated at 500-800.

    A multi-coloured gem set bracelet is estimated at 500-800.  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

    Posted in AUCTIONS, Miscellaneous | Comments Off on JEWELLERY AND WATCHES AT JAMES ADAM

    HUGHIE O’DONOGHUE AT MARLBOROUGH FINE ART AND WESTMINSTER ABBEY

    Monday, May 13th, 2013
    Hughie O'Donoghue - A Need For Gardens XI, 2013. (Click on image to enlarge).

    Hughie O’Donoghue – A Need For Gardens XI, 2013. (Click on image to enlarge).

    Hughie O'Donoghue - A Need for Gardens XII, 2013 (click on image to enlarge).

    Hughie O’Donoghue – A Need for Gardens XII, 2013 (click on image to enlarge).

    A Need for Gardens, Hughie O’Donoghue’s exhibition at Marlborough Fine Art in Mayfair, London, until June 1, is based on his commission to produce two stained glass windows for the Henry VII Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey. For the last two years he has been working on 30 full scale painterly cartoons now being translated into glass for installation this month. The motif for the windows is the English flower garden and in particular the lily.

    The process of transferring the layered and painterly aspects of the artist’s work into the medium of glass has been one of intense experimentation. This experimentation and many visits to Barley glass studio in York has led to a way of working in glass distinct from traditional forms. The artist has placed emphasis on the chromatic possibilities of glass and how colour, line and form might be integrated into the unique, late Gothic, architectural setting of the Lady Chapel (1503-1512).

    The artist’s immersion in this process has inevitably led to a cross fertilisation with his own practice as a painter leading to an entirely new body of 19 paintings on paper, which are a direct result of his experiences of working in glass and his involvement with the imagery of the flower garden and the voluptuous qualities of flowers.  All 19 of these beautiful works are on show at Marlborough Fine Art.

    Manchester born Hughie O’Donoghue lives and works in London and Mayo.  He has had exhibitions at many galleries including Abbot Hall, Kendall, Leeds Art Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, the Imperial War Museum, London, Birmingham Art Gallery, and the Haus der Kunst, Munich.

    Posted in ART | Comments Off on HUGHIE O’DONOGHUE AT MARLBOROUGH FINE ART AND WESTMINSTER ABBEY

    ANNE REDPATH STILL LIFE AT DUBLIN AUCTION BY DE VERES

    Saturday, May 11th, 2013
    Still Life with Flowers in a Vase by Anne Redpath (1895-1965) at de Veres. The estimate is 80,000-120,000.

    Still Life with Flowers in a Vase by Anne Redpath (1895-1965) at de Veres. The estimate is 80,000-120,000. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A Still Life of flowers in a vase by celebrated Scottish artist Anne Redpath is the top lot at de Veres Irish and International art auction in Dublin on May 14.  The painting, from a Scottish family living in Dublin who are related to the artist, is estimated at 80,000-100,000.  The work has a completed Still Life – Table Top on the reverse.

    Other international works include a Picasso ceramic jug (3,000-5,000) and a print by Damien Hirst entitled “All You Need is Love Love Love” (15,000-20,000).
    Irish art includes a le Brocquy tapestry as well as work by William Scott, Basil Blackshaw, Tony O’Malley, Barrie Cooke, William Crozier, Martin Gale, Sean McSweeney, Hughie O’Donoghue and John Shinnors.

    The art sale will be followed by a Design Auction with a selection of 20th Century design with furrniture from the 1940’s, ’50’s and ’60’s.  Designers featured include Paolo Buffa, Arne Jacobsen, Willy Rizzo and Marcel Breuer.

    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS | Comments Off on ANNE REDPATH STILL LIFE AT DUBLIN AUCTION BY DE VERES

    LENNON’S FERRARI BACK ON AUCTION CIRCUIT

    Friday, May 10th, 2013
    John Lennon's Ferrari - photo credit Bonhams/Simon Clay. (Click on image to enlarge).

    John Lennon’s Ferrari – photo credit Bonhams/Simon Clay. (Click on image to enlarge).

    John Lennon’s Ferrari has raced back on to the auction circuit again.  Withdrawn from auction in Paris in 2011 due to what was termed “seller’s remorse”  the car will feature at Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Chichester, England on July 12 next.  In early 2011 it was estimated at 120,000-170,000 euro, the estimate now is £180,000 to £220,000 sterling.

    John Lennon used it for nearly three years from 1965.  By the late 1980’s it was with the Modena Ferrari dealership, from where it was acquired by the current owner.  Painted red and separated from its number plate, it was then lovingly restored to its original specification. It is one of only 500 of its type built.  
    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 11, 2011).

    Posted in AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES | Comments Off on LENNON’S FERRARI BACK ON AUCTION CIRCUIT

    RECORDS FOR WILDE AND YEATS AT BONHAMS

    Thursday, May 9th, 2013
    There was new records for Irish poets Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats  at Bonhams in London on May 8. Wilde’s very early poem, ‘Heart’s Yearnings’ written when he was an undergraduate at Magdalen College Oxford in 1874 made £67,250, a world record for a poetic manuscript by the writer.  The previous record was £24,000 for a draft poem on Lillie Langtry.   A photograph of Wilde taken in New York by Napoleon Sarony in 1882 to publicise the writer’s tour of America made £16,250.
    A photograph of William Butler Yeats by the American photographer Alice Boughton taken in New York in 1903 made £18,750 over an estimate of £4,000-5,000.  Handwritten draft copies of his poems ‘Are you content’ and ‘The spirit medium’ sold for £15,000. The previous record for a Yeats poem at auction was £5,000.  Handwritten works by Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats and portraits of the two made over £130,000 in Part II of the sale of The Roy Davids Collection Part III:  Poetry: Poetical Manuscripts and Portraits of Poets. (Click on either image to enlarge it).
    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 23, 2013).
    YEATS, WILLIAM BUTLER (1865-1939) PORTRAIT BY THE AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER ALICE BOUGHTON (1866-1943) SIGNED BY YEATS made £18,750.

    YEATS, WILLIAM BUTLER (1865-1939) PORTRAIT BY THE AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER ALICE BOUGHTON (1866-1943) SIGNED BY YEATS made £18,750.

    WILDE, OSCAR (1854-1900) PORTRAIT BY NAPOLEON SARONY (1812-1896) SIGNED BY WILDE made £16,250.

    WILDE, OSCAR (1854-1900) PORTRAIT BY NAPOLEON SARONY (1812-1896) SIGNED BY WILDE made £16,250.

    Posted in AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES | Comments Off on RECORDS FOR WILDE AND YEATS AT BONHAMS

    SOTHEBY’S HONG KONG TO OFFER 25 WORKS BY ZHANG DAQIAN

    Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
    Zhang Daqian - Self Portrait (estimate US320,000-510,000. (Click on image to enlarge).

    Zhang Daqian – Self Portrait (estimate US320,000-510,000. (Click on image to enlarge).  UPDATE: THIS MADE $712,821 US.

    NO less than 25 works by Zhang Daqian, the top selling artist in the world at auction in 2011, will come under the hammer at Sotheby’s, Hong Kong on  May 27. He and Picasso, who both continue to exert a mesmeric hold on the international art market decades after their deaths, first met in 1956 and became lifelong friends.

    Both were warm-hearted and hospitable, fond of conversation, good food and drink, who shared their expertise and ideas about painting. When Zhang learned that Picasso had been experimenting with Chinese painting techniques for some time, Zhang – ever the exponent of correct technique – presented his friend with his own set of Chinese brushes.

    This single-owner collection of Zhang Daqian’s work at Sotheby’s is unparalleled. It was assembled by Kao Ling-Mei, a close friend of the artist. In the late 1950’s the two men collaborated on a major publication exploring Zhang’s art, theories and techniques: Chinese Paintings with the Original Paintings & Discourses on Chinese Art by Professor Chang Dai-chien. Many seminal works illustrated in the book will highlight the sale which is expected to bring in more than $14 million US.

    UPDATE:  THE SALE SOARED OVER ESTIMATE AND REALISED $42 MILLION DOLLARS US.

    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS | Comments Off on SOTHEBY’S HONG KONG TO OFFER 25 WORKS BY ZHANG DAQIAN

    SUNDAY INTERIORS AUCTION AT JAMES ADAM IN DUBLIN

    Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

    A mixed selection with everything from silver, porcelain and rugs to art, furniture and books will come under the hammer at the James Adam Sunday Interiors auction in Dublin on May 12.  The catalogue, which is on-line, lists 637 lots.  Here is a small selection.

    AN AESTHETIC MOVEMENT EBONISED AND STAINED OAK SIDE TABLE, by Lamb of Manchester, (200-400).

    AN AESTHETIC MOVEMENT EBONISED AND STAINED OAK SIDE TABLE, by Lamb of Manchester, (200-400)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    OSCAR WILDE: HIS LIFE AND CONFESSIONS WITH MEMORIES OF OSCAR WILDE BY BERNARD SHAW Two Volumes. Frank Harris; Bernard Shaw Printed and published by the author, New York, 1918.(100-200).

    OSCAR WILDE: HIS LIFE AND CONFESSIONS WITH MEMORIES OF OSCAR WILDE BY BERNARD SHAW Two Volumes. Frank Harris; Bernard Shaw Printed and published by the author, New York, 1918.(100-200). UPDATE: THIS MADE 140

    AN EARLY 19TH CENTURY IRISH SILVER SWING HANDLE FRUIT BASKET Dublin 1825, mark of W Nowlan (1,000-1,500).

    AN EARLY 19TH CENTURY IRISH SILVER SWING HANDLE FRUIT BASKET Dublin 1825, mark of W Nowlan (1,000-1,500).  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A PAIR OF ITALIAN PIETRE DURE PICTORAL PLAQUES BY GIOVANNI MONTELATICI, Florence (1864-1930) (3,000-5,000).

    A PAIR OF ITALIAN PIETRE DURE PICTORAL PLAQUES BY GIOVANNI MONTELATICI, Florence (1864-1930) (3,000-5,000).  UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD

    A CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN BOWL, MING DYNASTY (300-400).

    A CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN BOWL, MING DYNASTY (300-400).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 700

    A FRAMED HERMÈS SILK SCARF depicting the coronation of Napoleon within military trophies, uniforms and vignettes from his life is estimated at 300-400.

    A FRAMED HERMÈS SILK SCARF depicting the coronation of Napoleon within military trophies, uniforms and vignettes from his life is estimated at 300-400.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 200

    A George IV giltwood sofa once owned by Lennox Robinson, playright and director of the Abbey Theatre, is estimated at 4,000-6,000.

    A George IV giltwood sofa once owned by Lennox Robinson, playright and director of the Abbey Theatre, is estimated at 4,000-6,000.  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A Chinese hand knotted pictorial wool run from Paotou c1890-1900 is estimated at 400-600.

    A Chinese hand knotted pictorial wool run from Paotou c1890-1900 is estimated at 400-600.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 350

    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES, FURNITURE | Comments Off on SUNDAY INTERIORS AUCTION AT JAMES ADAM IN DUBLIN

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