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There will be a live online auction by Matthews of Oldcastle, Co. Meath at 6 pm on June 9. On offer are 541 lots including some value jewellery, watches, old silver and a few Russian collectibles, gold coins and Oriental pieces. The catalogue is online and the sale is on Easy Live auctions.
The Bitch Pack of the Meath Foxhounds by the Victorian painter John Emms (1843-1912) made £225,000 at a behind closed doors sale at Bonhams in London today. It had been estiamted at £180,000-250,000 and was originally scheduled for auction in April. The British Impressionist art sale achieved £1.4 million with 70% sold by lot and 70% sold by value.
In this unusually large work – it is 40 x 60 inches – Emms (British 11843-1912) employed fluid brush strokes to give weight and solidity to the different physical characteristics of the dogs as well as their individual temperaments. It is known that the artist walked to the kennels every day and returned to his studio with one hound after another so he could make detailed preliminary sketches which he then worked up into the overall composition.
Hunting with hounds is a tradition in Ireland that goes back to ancient times and features strongly in Celtic literature and legend. There is a pack recorded in the Meath area as early as 1723, although the Meath Hunt itself dates from 1817. The Bitch Pack of the Meath Foxhounds was painted in 1896 when the famous John Watson was Master, his mastership spanning 1891-1908.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 24, 2020)
The Spire by the Northern Irish artist Colin Davidson – who painted a portrait of Angela Merkel for the cover of Time Magazine in 2015 – was the top lot at Gormley’s Auctions online sale of Irish art on June 2. It made a hammer price of £7,600. Davidson lives and works near Belfast.
Mary Queen of Scots’ prayer book will be offered as part of Christie’s Classic Week’s Old Master Group evening sale on July 29. Illuminated with a cycle of forty miniatures by the Master of François de Rohan, one of the most sought-after artists of the court of King Francis I (r. 1515-1547) it is estimated at £250,000 – £350,000.
A new, expanded Classic Week comprises a series of 12 auctions throughout July. There will be eight on-line sales, including a creative collaboration between Old Masters and Post War Art and four live auctions culminating with the Classic Art evening sale
Karl Hermanns, Global Managing Director, Classic Art Group comments, “Christie’s Classic Art business has seen great success in the new environment of the last two months, with live auctions converted to on-line only sales, creative new on-line theme sales, and last week in Paris we held the first live auctions by an international auction house since lockdown. Our on-line only New York Classic Week is live for bidding now. We are excited to announce London’s July marquee Classic Week in this new, expanded, hybrid format and featuring two innovative new sale concepts: a creative on-line collaboration between Old Masters and Post War Art and a new cross-category Classic Art Evening Sale”.
The pulpit of truth is one of the more unusual lots at part two of Gerard Derry’s retirement online auction by Victor Mee of Co. Cavan on June 6 and 7. The early 20th century hand carved oak pulpit is part of an impressive collection of architectural pieces, garden and decorative interiors and pub memorabilia. It took three years to complete and is estimated at 40,000-80,000. Bids can be left online, in the office via phone or email. The sale is on Easy Live. The pulpit by Louis Mascré was commissioned by Baron and Baroness Crawhez and donated to the Church of Saint Martin in the town of Ransart, Belgium.
