antiquesandartireland.com

Information about Art, Antiques and Auctions in Ireland and around the world
  • ABOUT
  • About Des
  • Contact
  • Archive for January, 2021

    RARELY SEEN DIVINE COMEDY DRAWINGS ON VIRTUAL DISPLAY

    Friday, January 8th, 2021

    A virtual exhibition of rarely-seen drawings inspired by Dante’s The Divine Comedy has been launched by the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It marks the 700th anniversary of the death in 1321 of Dante Alighieri. The 88 illustrations on view were completed between 1586 and 1588 by Renaissance artist Federico Zuccari.

    The Divine Comedy by Dante, known as the father of the Italian language, is an epic first-person odyssey through heaven, hell, and purgatory considered one of the most important literary works of all time. The exhibition can be found by googling Uffizi Gallery Dante.

    Federico Zuccari, Inferno, Canti XXVI-XXVIII.

    A GOOD YEAR AT WHYTE’S DESPITE COVID AND BREXIT

    Thursday, January 7th, 2021

    With three auctions planned for the first quarter of 2021 Whyte’s has reported that sales in 2020 reached €7 million. This compares to €8.5 million in 2019. Increased demand for art and collectibles offset the worst of the effects of the pandemic. Demand was driven by savings made from not travelling abroad, not eating out, not drinking in pubs, not commuting and not buying clothes for work. The imposition of negative interest rates on bank deposits has encouraged cash rich individuals to purchase tangible assets such as art and collectibles.

    Whyte’s anticipate that 2021 will be another challenging year with the continuance of pandemic restrictions and Brexit. This will cause problems for trading in art between the EU and the UK. Individual collectors will have to pay 13.5% VAT on importation of art, and 21% on importation of collectibles from the UK. UK collectors and businesses will only pay 5% VAT on imports of art and most collectibles from Ireland. Irish VAT registered businesses will account for the importation VAT in their returns to Revenue. Customs clearance charges will add an extra 1% to the cost of importing art and collectibles. Thus a painting bought in the UK for €10,000 could cost an extra €1,450 to import to Ireland, and a €1,000 collectible will be charged €220 on arrival.

     Whytes will hold sales of Irish & International Art on March 1, The Eclectic Collector on March 27 and a Spring Art Sale on April 13-19. 

    This 1916 Procalamation of the Irish Republic sold for €190,000 in July

    CHANEL COSTUME JEWELLERY AT CHRISTIE’S ONLINE

    Wednesday, January 6th, 2021

    A selection of costume jewellery made for the Chanel runway comes up at an online sale at Christie’s, New York from January 14-29. Spanning over 100 intricate creations the jewels provide a glimpse into the golden era of Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel. They are featured as part of the landmark sale series from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. John H. Gutfreund 834 Fifth Avenue. Susan Gutfreund shared a close friendship with Karl Lagerfeld. Many of the pieces are prototypes never before offered for sale and they provide a window into the world of haute couture in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for December 20, 2020)

    CHANEL GRIPOIX GLASS AND FAUX PEARL PENDANT EARRINGS
    $800-1,200. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR $3,250

    EXCEPTIONAL COLLECTION TO FEATURE AT CHRISTIE’S SALES

    Tuesday, January 5th, 2021

    A selection of exceptional works from the property of heirs of Franz Koenigs will come up in a series of sales at Christie’s in 2021. Categories will include Old Master Paintings and Old Master Drawings, Impressionist and Modern Art, Prints and Applied Arts. There are more than 2,800 works of art, ranging from the 15th to the early 20th Century. German by birth, Franz Koenigs  (1881-1941) was a businessman and banker who settled in the Netherlands in 1922. Because of the political developments in his home country he obtained Dutch nationality in 1939. Among the highlights are a number of exceptional landscapes by the leading exponents from the Dutch Golden Age, led by Jacob van Ruisdael’s iconic Tower of Kostverloren on the Amstel (£500,000-800,000), and  A wooded river landscape with a punt, Deventer in the distance by Meindert Hobbema (£500,000-800,000). 

    Meindert Hobbema – A wooded river landscape with a punt, Deventer in the distance 

    DURER ETCHING AT PHILLIPS IN LONDON

    Sunday, January 3rd, 2021

    Knight, Death and the Devil an etching produced by Albrecht Dürer in 1513 comes up at Phillips in London on January 21. It is the first time that the firm will offer a work from the 16th century in London. This is one of three large prints that form Dürer’s Master Engravings produced between 1513 and 1514.  Knight, Death and the Devil, accompanied by Melancholia I and Saint Jerome in His Study, are considered to correspond to the three kinds of medieval scholarly virtue – theological, intellectual, and moral. The engraving is estimated at £20,000-30,000.

    The 272 lots in the sale offer examples of Pop, Modern and Contemporary editions as well as pieces from key periods of art history. Among them are Roy Lichtenstein’s Reverie from 1965 and two screenprints in colour by Andy Warhol: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from Reigning Queens (Royal Edition), 1985 and Mickey Mouse, from Myths, 1981.

    Albrecht Dürer
    Knight, Death and the Devil. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £47,880

    IRISH INTEREST IN APTER-FREDERICKS AUCTION

    Saturday, January 2nd, 2021

    From the Westport House table to the Leinster House cabinets there is much of Irish interest in a sale for furniture specialists at Christie’s in London on January 19.  Apter-Fredericks: 75 Years of Important English Furniture encompasses some spectacular Irish pieces as it marks the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. Internationally renowned for the superlative quality, condition and provenance of their pieces, Apter-Fredericks remains an industry byword for the very finest furniture and works of art, a reputation which has been built by three generations of the family over the last 75 years. The firm is giving up their Fulham Road, London showroom in order to spend more time in pursuit of masterpieces and visiting clients.

    It is a great pity that at home and abroad the new world that beckons makes little room for fine antique shops like this in expensive downtown locations.  Antique furniture is  as green as you can get. So it is more than a little perverse that in a world with growing awareness of the urgent need to tackle climate change there is little room for shops selling the ultimate recyclable.

     A c1750 Irish side table. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £30,000

    Christie’s wlll offer 140 lots including work by the foremost craftspeople and designers of the 18th and 19th centuries like Chippendale, Ince and Mayhew, Linnell, Gomm, Lock, Bullock and Gillows, as well as some Chinese works of art. The Westport House dining table (£50,000-£80,000), capable of extending beyond 30 feet, is attributed to Gillows. It was purchased by Howe Peter Browne (1788-1845), the 2nd Marquess of Sligo.  As governor of Jamaica he supported the emancipation of slaves. It is possible that the mahogany for the table came from Jamaica.The Leinster House cabinets (£40,000-£60,000), are thought to have been commissioned by the 2nd Duke of Leinster in 1777-78 and have been in the possession of the FitzGerald family ever since. Another highlight is a c1750 Irish side table. The carved pierced apron with foliage, shells and a central cartouche with a bird, is a good example of the Irish style. It came from a private collection in the US.A c1740 side table is described as English or possibly Irish. Apter-Frederick say the quirky nature of the overall proportion suggests a provincial or Irish origin.  There is an Irish bottle stand and an Irish George III giltwood and verre eglomise mirror. Verre egomise is a process where there is both a design and gilding on glass to produce a mirror finish.  This one, dated 1798, is by Josias Phillips, Wards Hill, Dublin.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for December 3, 2020)

     Irish George III giltwood mirror. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £18,750

    NEW YEAR, NEW FEAR, NO TURNER

    Friday, January 1st, 2021

    Because of our lockdown the National Gallery of Ireland is closed until further notice. There is as of now no access to Turner and Place: Landscapes in Light and Detail. If, as seems likely, there will be no reprise of Ireland’s lockdown before January 31 it will be the first time in 120 years that the annual winter exhibition of Turner watercolours will not be open to the public. The 31 Turner watercolours were to have been shown alongside a group of 19 rare topographical drawings by Francis Place, who visited Ireland in 1698. Among them are the earliest known depictions of Drogheda, Dublin, Kilkenny, and Waterford within the national collection. The Gallery had reopened on December 1 after 73 days of closure.

    In 1900, the National Gallery of Ireland received a bequest of 31 watercolours and drawings by Turner from the English collector Henry Vaughan (1809–99). Vaughan stipulated in his will that the watercolours be exhibited every year, free of charge, for the month of January, when the light is at its weakest. Since 1901, the Gallery has displayed the watercolours for the month of January, thereby upholding the conditions of his bequest. January 2021 marked 120 years since the Turner watercolours were first exhibited at the Gallery.

    Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775-1851 – A River in the Campagna, 1794/1797 Watercolour and graphite on off-white wove paper.