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  • Archive for February, 2014

    SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT FONSIE MEALY SALE

    Monday, February 10th, 2014

    With everything from a hand made model of a clipper and  a stuffed fox and pheasant to antique furniture, art and a collection of glass paperweights the clearance auction by Fonsie Mealy in Castlecomer on February 18 promises to be interesting.  The catalogue lists 388 lots and is online. Here is a small selection.

    A handmade model of Caliph, a clipper ship designed for the China tea trade launched in 1869 which disappeared on a voyage to Shanghai in 1872 (180-220).

    A handmade model of Caliph, a clipper ship designed for the China tea trade launched in 1869 which disappeared on a voyage to Shanghai in 1872 (180-220). THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A Victorian figured walnut bow fronted what not (200-300).

    A Victorian figured walnut bow fronted what not (200-300).  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A collection of 30 glass paperweights, late 19th and early 20th centuries (280-380).

    A collection of 30 glass paperweights, late 19th and early 20th centuries (280-380).  UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 320

    A fox and pheasant  (120-180).

    A fox and pheasant (120-180).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 110

    One of a pair of heavy decorated brass hall lanterns (250-350).

    One of a pair of heavy decorated brass hall lanterns (250-350).  UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD

    A bronze patio table modelled as  a seated nude (220-380).

    A bronze patio table modelled as a seated nude (220-380).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 220

    LETTERS TO GIRLFRIEND FROM 21 YEAR OLD FREUD AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, February 10th, 2014
    freud letters

    A selection of letters by Lucian Freud from a group of eleven, estimated at £3,000-5,000  UPDATE: THEY SOLD FOR £122,500, OVER 30 TIMES THE ESTIMATE.

    Unpublished letters written by the 21 year old Lucian Freud to his girlfriend will be offered at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art day sale  in London on February 13.  Sent to his fellow art-student Felicity Hellaby they are peppered with wry humour and anecdotal detail, repeatedly touching on themes that would inform his later work.   They will be offered alongside three drawings from the same period – all part of Felicity Hellaby’s possession since the 1940s.  Here are some quotes: His work: “My life is at a very crucial stage at the moment, one day I think I am beginning to make my work how I want it to be and then I feel so dissatisfied with it that I leave the house”;  Relationships: Cedric wrote a letter to my mother, asking her to persuade me not to come down again as I was too destructive and unscrupulous.”;  Wartime England: I have just been bitten by an enormous dog in the blackout…Its [sic] very dark here and most people have scars either on their noses or foreheads from walking into posts”; His purchases: “I have bought a very large Zebra’s head it looks very strange on the wall with big glass eyes and mane going up. By far the best thing I have ever bought”.

    Felicity Hellaby met the sixteen-year old Lucian Freud at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing in Dedham, Essex where they were both students. The school, which was established by Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines, was forced to relocate to Hadleigh in Suffolk after a fire in 1940.  Freud, a student there since 1939, was rumoured to have been responsible for starting the fire; it was a rumour he was happy to propagate, feeling that it only added to his growing reputation.

    18TH CENTURY SUNDIAL AT LYNES AUCTION

    Sunday, February 9th, 2014
    A detail of the sundial with the makers name and date.

    A detail of the sundial with the makers name and date.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 2,020

    A 18th century brass sundial at Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork on February 15 was made by Daniel Voster, one of the earliest known instrument makers in Ireland.  This rare piece is dated Corke 1752.  A slide rule by Voster dated 1742 is in the collection of the Science Museum in London. The sundial is estimated at 400-600.   The sale features antique furniture and collectibles. Here is a small selection.  The catalogue is online.

    A Cork Georgian mahogany and satinwood banded tea table (400-600)

    A Cork Georgian mahogany and satinwood banded tea table (400-600)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 340

    An ornate Victorian sideboard is estimated at 1,000-1,500.

    An ornate Victorian sideboard is estimated at 1,000-1,500. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,150

    KILLARNEY WOOD TABLE AT WOODWARDS

    Saturday, February 8th, 2014
    A c1890 Killarney occasional table is comes up at Woodwards in Cork on February 12 at 6 p.m. The circular tip top table is classically inlaid with five harp motifs and shamrocks with four panels of floral inlay and it is estimated at 4,000-6,000. Also on offer is a pair of William IV card tables (3,000-4,000), a set of ten spoon back dining chairs (3,000-4,000), a mahogany teapoy (600-800), a Gainsborough style Georgian armchair (800-1,200), a Carlton House desk (1,000-1,400), a Georgian Chippendale style table and eight chairs (2,000-3,000) and  a satinwood bureau bookcase (1,000-1,500).   There is an autograph album from the Hare Park internment camp at the Curragh, stamp albums, silver, and porcelain.  Artists featured include Arthur Maderson, Victor Richardson, James Flack, Sean McCarthy, Majella O’Neill-Collins and Tim Goulding.

    A George II walnut card table (2,000-3,000)

    A George II walnut card table (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500

    A Clarice Cliff cake dish and cover and jug, each estimated at 100-150.

    A Clarice Cliff cake dish and cover and jug, each estimated at 100-150.  UPDATE: SOLD FOR 200

    Louis XV style serpentine fronted gilt console table with shaped marble inset (1,400-2,000).

    Louis XV style serpentine fronted gilt console table with shaped marble inset (1,400-2,000).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200

    A set of Cork 11-bar dining chairs at Woodwards.

    A set of Cork 11-bar dining chairs (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE:  THESE WERE UNSOLD

    This Killarney wood table is at Woodwards.

    This Killarney wood table is estimated at 4,000-6,000.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600

    ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES AT MATTHEWS AUCTION

    Saturday, February 8th, 2014

    THE auction at Matthews of Oldcastle, Co. Meath on February 11 at 6.30 p.m. features antique and collectible items, a 30 lot collection of silver and more than 70 Revenue clearance lots.  The catalogue is online.  Here is a small selection.

    William IV Mahogany Fold Over Games Table (400-700)

    William IV Mahogany Fold Over Games Table (400-700)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 420

    French Early Nineteenth Century Ormolu Mounted Double Inkwell with Bronze Bust of Napoleon (300-500).

    French Early Nineteenth Century Ormolu Mounted Double Inkwell with Bronze Bust of Napoleon (300-500).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 420

    William IV Figured Mahogany Sideboard (600-900).

    William IV Figured Mahogany Sideboard (600-900).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 720

    Regency Rosewood Tea Caddy (80-120)

    Regency Rosewood Tea Caddy (80-120)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 100

    Set of Seven Graduated Copper Pans (150-250)

    Set of Seven Graduated Copper Pans (150-250) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 150

    ONLINE IRISH ART SALE UNDERWAY AT DE VERES

    Friday, February 7th, 2014

    An online auction of Irish art is now underway at de Veres of Dublin.  There are 104 lots in a sale designed to suit all budgets. Works are available to view at de Veres on Kildare St., Dublin.  The sale runs until February 13 at 6 p.m.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection.

    The topical title of this work by Eric Patton RHA 1925-2004  is STORM (100-200)

    The topical title of this work by Eric Patton RHA 1925-2004 is STORM (100-200)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 105

    Micheal Farrell, 1940-2000 JAMES JOYCE - I DON`T MIND HOW YOU PAINT MY SOUL BUT GET MY TIE CORRECT (GOLD TIE) Etching, paper size 21`` x 15 1/2`` (53 x 39cm), signed, inscribed and dated 1999, ed. 136/50 (200-400).

    Micheal Farrell, 1940-2000 JAMES JOYCE – I DON`T MIND HOW YOU PAINT MY SOUL BUT GET MY TIE CORRECT (GOLD TIE) Etching, paper size 21“ x 15 1/2“ (53 x 39cm), signed, inscribed and dated 1999, ed. 136/50 (200-400).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 200

    Jill Dennis - BLOW HOLE, DUN AN OIR Oil on board (300-500).

    Jill Dennis – BLOW HOLE, DUN AN OIR Oil on board (300-500).  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Felim Egan (b.1952) BLACK Oil on board, 19`` x 19`` (500-700)

    Felim Egan (b.1952) BLACK Oil on board, 19“ x 19“ (500-700)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 760

    Douglas Alexander 1871-1945 GLENAN LAKE, SLIGO Oil on canvas (400-600)

    Douglas Alexander 1871-1945 GLENAN LAKE, SLIGO Oil on canvas (400-600)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Jill Dennis - BLOW HOLE, DUN AN OIR Oil on board (300-500).

    Michael Cullen RHA, Bathers, La Pelosa, Sardinia, watercolour (600-900).  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

     

    THE POPE’S HARLEY-DAVIDSON MAKES 241,500 FOR ROME CHARITY

    Friday, February 7th, 2014
    The Pope's Harley Davidson sold for 241,500.

    The Pope’s Harley Davidson sold for 241,500.

    The Pope’s Harley sold for 241,500 at Bonhams in Paris on February 6.  A Harley-Davidson motorcycle jacket sold for 57,500. Auctioned for charity they had been donated to Pope Francis by the motorcycle manufacturer last June. Funds raised will go towards the renovation of the Caritas Roma’s Don Luigi di Liegro hostel and soup kitchen at Rome’s Termini railway station.  The 1,585cc Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide was signed on the tank by the Pope at the Vatican last November. The jacket was also signed by Pope Francis. They were bought by separate bidders at Bonahms Les Grandes Marques du Monde sale at the Grand Palais in Paris. The motorcycle went to a private buyer in Europe, the jacket went to an overseas buyer.

    THE JAN KRUGIER COLLECTION AT SOTHEBY’S

    Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

    HERE is a video from Sotheby’s on the Jan Krugier collection.  In the course of the two days 119 works from the Collection met with enormous enthusiasm at Sotheby’s, selling for a combined total of £74.8 million  more than double the pre-sale high estimate. A total of 37 works from the legendary gallerists’ collection brought in a combined total of £53.3 million at the evening sale on February 5.  Pablo Picasso Composition au Minotaure featured on the front of the video sold for £10.4 million, three times its pre-sale estimate.  The sale was 100% sold by lot, with 82.5% of the lots selling for prices above their high estimates and many auction records established.  Alberto Giacometti’s iconic sculpture Homme Traversant Une Place Par Un Matin De Soleil (1951) achieved £8,482,500, Auction records were established for works on paper by Pablo Picasso, Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Giacometti, Pierre Bonnard, for a print by Pablo Picasso and for a work by Victor Hugo.  The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles emerged as the buyer of Georges Seurat’s Mendiant hindou  for £2,434,500 and  Tête – a 1911 drawing by Pablo Picasso – sold to a UK institution for £626,500.

    A £19.9 MILLION PISSARRO AT SOTHEBY’S

    Wednesday, February 5th, 2014
    Camille Pissarro, Boulevard Montmartre, Matinee de Printemps sold for £19.9 million – almost 5 times previous record.

    Camille Pissarro, Boulevard Montmartre, Matinee de Printemps sold for £19.9 million – almost 5 times previous record.

    Van Gogh's L'Homme est en mer sold for £16.5 million.

    Van Gogh’s L’Homme est en mer sold for £16.9 million.

    A £19.9 million Pissarro,  the highest price for a Van Gogh at auction in London for 25 years and the sale of every masterpiece from the Jan Krugier collection for prices above the top estimate added up to a soaring evening at Sotheby’s.  Records tumbled at the Impressionist and Modern Art sale on February 5.  Camille Pissarro’s Boulevard Montmartre, Matinee de Printemps, a restituted masterpiece sold for five times the previous record for the artist.    Meantime seven bidders competed for Van Gogh’s L’Homme est en mer, which was eventually knocked down for £16.9 million.  The collection of legendary gallerist Jan Krugier brought in a combined total of £53.3 million.  The sale saw  record prices for a print by Picasso, a work on paper by Giacometti and a work on paper by Bonnard. 

    The sale realised £163,461,500.  (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for Monday, December 23, 2013).

    STILL LIFE BY GRIS TOPS HUGELY SUCCESSFUL SALE AT CHRISTIE’S

    Tuesday, February 4th, 2014
    Juan Gris Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux. Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2014.

    Juan Gris Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.

    A still life by Juan Gris (1887-1927) was the top lot at a hugely successful sale at Christie’s  in London tonight.  Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux, 1915, by Juan Gris (1887-1927) sold for £34,802,500. This was a new world record price for the artist at auction.  It had been estimated at £12-18 million. The Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale and the auction of The Art of the Surreal  realised a combined total of £176,986,000 selling 86% by lot and 95% by value. The auctions had a combined pre-sale estimate of £113.3 million to £162.9 million.  In total, 35 works of art sold for over £1 million / 43 for over $1 million, and four artist records were set. As well as Juan Gris there were records for works Carlo Carrà, Le Corbusier and Dorothea Tanning.

    Jay Vincze, International Director and Head of The Impressionist and Modern Art Department, Christie’s London: “We are thrilled with tonight?s results, which represent the highest total for a sale held in London in any category. We were particularly pleased with the result of the private Swiss collection which more than doubled its pre-sale estimate with every work sold, and three new world records established. The energy of the sale and the depth of bidding was exceptional, particularly on the top lots, underpinned by both the quality of the works on offer and the global nature of both new and established buyers and bidders.”

    Christie’s withdrew a collection of paintings, drawing, sculptures and collages by Miro consigned by the Portuguese Republic because of a legal dispute.

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for January 7, January 14 and January 15 2014).