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  • Archive for December, 2019

    THE LAST HIGH SHERIFF TO BURN A WITCH

    Tuesday, December 31st, 2019

    According to a file at the Heinz Archive and library the boy depicted in this painting grew up to become the last High Sheriff to burn a witch. The portrait attributed to Thomas Murray (1663-1735) shows Henry Stewart as a boy. Stewart died in 1717. The sitter was the son of William Stewart (1625-1706) and Margaret Shaw (b. 1625), who married in 1664 and lived at Killymoon Castle, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, which William’s father had purchased in 1634. Henry Stewart became High Sheriff of County Tyrone in 1711. The portrait, from Killadoon House in Co. Kildare, comes up at Sotheby’s Royal and Nobel sale in London on January 21 with an estimate of £8,000-12,000.

    ATTRIBUTED TO THOMAS MURRAY | PORTRAIT OF HENRY STEWART (D. 1717) AS A BOY . UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £11,250

    A HOLIDAY SALE AT MATTHEWS IN KELLS

    Friday, December 27th, 2019

    More than 1,100 lots will come under the hammer at the annual holiday auction by Matthews in Kells, Co. Meath on December 29 and 30. Viewing gets underway today. The catalogue is online.

    A pair of Tiffany dragonfly lamps (200-300). UPDATE: THESE MADE 190 AT HAMMER

    A NATIVITY BY BOTTICELLI

    Tuesday, December 24th, 2019

    THE Mystic Nativity by Sandro Botticelli dates to 1500 and is in the collection of London’s National Gallery. They bought it in 1878. The infant Christ reaches up towards the Virgin Mary, oblivious of his visitors – the Three Kings on the left and the shepherds on the right. The golden dome of heaven has opened up and is circled by 12 angels holding olive branches entwined with scrolls and hung with crowns. In the foreground, three pairs of angels and men embrace; among their feet demons scuttle for shelter in the underworld through cracks in the rocks. It is his only signed work.

    We will all visitors to antiquesandartireland.com a very happy Christmas.

    THE SCAR OF BETHLEHEM BY BANKSY

    Sunday, December 22nd, 2019

    Instantly dubbed “The Scar of Bethlehem” the latest work by Banksy appeared on yesterday in the Israeli occupied West Bank. A Christmas crib with the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph backlit through damaged concrete. The vertical concrete slabs behind the scene are pierced by a hole making a latter day star apparently created by a mortar shell. The work is at Banksy’s Walled-Off Hotel, where rooms overlook a concrete section of the barrier built by Israel. On instagram the artist described the work as a “modified nativity”.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 28, 2015)

    The West Bank nativity scene by Banksy

    MONET TAKES TOP BILLING AT SOTHEBY’S 2019 ART SALES

    Sunday, December 22nd, 2019

    Monet, Picasso, Bacon and Rothko were the highest priced artists at Sotheby’s in 2019. The top lot of the year at Sotheby’s was Meules by Monet which made $110,747,000 in New York. Picasso’s Femme au Chien made $54,936,000, Bacon’s Study for a Head sold for $50,380,000 and an untitled work by Mark Rothko made $50,095,250. All these works were sold in New York last May.

    Claude Monet – Meules

    IRISH FURNITURE AT SOTHEBY’S ROYAL AND NOBLE SALE

    Friday, December 20th, 2019

    This set of eight Irish George III mahogany hall chairs from Killadoon House in Co. Kildare is one of a number of Irish furniture lots at Sotheby’s Royal and Noble sale in London on January 21. The 2020 instalment of Royal & Noble, now in its seventh year, will provide another exciting opportunity to acquire works from important aristocratic collections sourced throughout Europe. Highlights include property from two notable Irish houses – Killadoon and Luggala – and property from the Estate of Jhr. Ir. G.C. (Gijs) Six van Wimmenum (1892-1975), a descendant of Rembrandt’s great patron Jan Six. The chairs are estimated at £15,000-25,000.

    UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR £47,500

    500 YEARS OF WORKS ON PAPER AT CHRISTIE’S NEW YORK

    Wednesday, December 18th, 2019

    A wide variety of works on paper covering over 500 years from approximately 1480 to the mid-19th Century will come up at Christie’s Old Master and British Drawings sale in New York on January 28. The auction will include works from the collection of Jean Bonna of Geneva. There is art by Tiepolo, Canaletto, Perugino, Luca Signorelli, Parmigianino, Annibale Carracci, Bernini, Elisabetta Sirani, Francois Boucher, Ingres, Gericault, Buguereau, Rembrandt and Turner. Estimates range from $2,000 to $800,000.

    FRANÇOIS BOUCHER (PARIS 1703-1770)
    A nude woman playing a flute, seen from behind ($20,000-30,000)

    SUPERMAN CAPE MAKES RECORD $193,750 AT JULIEN’S AUCTIONS

    Tuesday, December 17th, 2019

    The original Superman cape worn by Christoper Reeve sold for $193,750 at Julien’s Auctions in Hollywood on December 16. It is one of the most recognised superhero costume pieces of all time. It was worn by Christopher Reeve in his iconic role as the Man of Steel in Superman (Warner Bros., 1978). The cape was part of a world-wide contest to promote the release in 1979 with the grand prize being one of the six original capes made for and used in the film. The item’s provenance included a letter from DC Comics’ President as well as the editor and publisher and a copy of a photo of Christopher Reeve choosing the winner.

    Patrick Stewart’s “Starfleet” dress uniform worn when he played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” sold for $28,800. Among the other highlights was: Dan Aykroyd’s “Raymond Stantz” jumpsuit from Ghostbusters II ($32,000); a Playboy limited edition jukebox ($12,800); a limited 40th Anniversary Playboy Stratocaster signed by Hugh Hefner ($19,200); an Andy Warhol 18K white gold pocket watch ($10,240); an Alcatraz model used in Escape From Alcatraz ($25,600); $8,125; a Maltese Falcon statuette from the Warner Bros. prop department ($8,125); two Frank Sinatra oil paintings signed “Sinatra/’65” ($75,000) and “Sinatra 53” ($21,250).

    SUPERMAN CAPE

    ART FOR CHRISTMAS AT WHYTE’S

    Tuesday, December 17th, 2019

    Turf Cutting by Letitia Marion Hamilton is one a number of unsold lots from Whyte’s Irish art sale on December 2 now on offer as part of Art for Christmas at Whyte’s on Molesworth St. in Dublin. A selection of art is now available at Whyte’s galleries, which will remain open until December 23. Estimated in the auction at 10,000-15,000 Turf Cutting is priced at 12,500 including commission and VAT on commission. Offers are invited and will be transmitted to the owners.

    Letitia M Hamilton (1878-1964) – Turf Cutting

    ANTIQUE GLASS URNS MAKE 6,000 AT JAMES ADAM

    Monday, December 16th, 2019

    A pair of c1800 Waterford flat cut urns and covers sold for a hammer price of 6,000 at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on December 15. They were from the collection formed in the 1930’s by the artist Mrs. Jean Jameson of Tourin, Co. Waterford.