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  • Archive for January, 2026

    LOTS AND LOTS TO INTEREST COLLECTORS AT FONSIE MEALY SALE

    Saturday, January 31st, 2026

    Irish Georgian mahogany serving table, possibly Cork. UPDATE: THIS MADE €360 AT HAMMER

    With everything from a 1963 Morris Minor and a 19th century decorated hand painted Sicilian cart to a 19th century inlaid boulle credenza and a Irish Georgian mahogany serving table possibly made in Cork Fonsie Mealy’s Making Room sale in Castlecomer on February 4 and 5 has lots to interest collectors of every hue.

    More than 840 lots of antique furniture, paintings, decorative arts and collectibles will come under the hammer.  Estimates are reasonable and all lots are to be sold.  

    There will be Cork interest in a retro wooden mantel clock presented to solicitor John Rearden in September 1950.  A  small plaque on the Edwardian mahogany clock records that it was presented by the Cork Employers Federation Ltd. “In token of their appreciation of his 42 years service as Secretary”.  The lot, complete with a photograph of the presentation, is estimated at €180-€220. An inlaid wall clock by Hilsers of the Grand Parade has an estimate of €120-€180.

    Given that it is reckoned that you could travel around central London in a horse drawn carriage in the old days more quickly than by fast car nowadays the contrasting options of a 19th century pony trap (€800-€1,200) and the four cylinder Morris Minor (€3,000-€4,000) are of interest.  The car was owned by the Odlum family of Portarlington. The Sicilian cart, with spoked and iron clad wheels, has an estimate of €400-€600. 

    Tables, chairs, chests, Oriental screens, display cabinets, paintings, rugs and a converted 18th century spinet, an early 20th century carved wooden hobby horse, a Cork Mansion House service plate, a pair of Dresden bowls and three pieces of Copeland to be sold as one lot and all sorts collectibles vie for attention in an auction where the offerings are comprehensive.  Ebony string inlay marks an Irish Georgian serving table as a possible Cork piece. The estimate is a mere €400-€500. The catalogue is online and the sale is on view in Castlecomer on February 3.

    A pair of Dresden floral bowls, a Copeland dish and two matching plates. UPDATE: THIS LOT MADE €140 AT HAMMER

    REASONABLE ESTIMATES AT MULLEN’S OF LAUREL PARK

    Saturday, January 31st, 2026

     A 19th century inlaid foldover card table UPDATE: THIS MADE €300 AT HAMMER

    The auction by Mullen’s of Laurel Park, Bray on February 1 kicks off a busy week of sales in Ireland.  Estimates for furniture are reasonable and there is no shortage of attractive antique pieces like a 19th century walnut and kingwood foldover card table (€400-€600), a continental display cabinet (€500-€700), a Georgian mahogany chest on chest (€500-€800) and a vintage Beidermeier style kingwood and walnut pedestal desk (€400-€600).

    The most expensively estimated lot, from a total of 633, is a Georgian mahogany bureau bookcase with an architectural pediment and mirrored doors (€1,500-€2,000).    There is value in pieces like an early carved oak court cupboard (€300-€400), an embossed leather five fold screen (€200-€300), a set of ten dining chairs (€500-€800) and a nest of quartetto tables (€300-€400). An Irish four piece silver tea set, made in Dublin in 1973, is estimated at €800-€1,200).

    The auction is on view from 10 am to 4 pm today and tomorrow.  The catalogue is online and the sale kicks of at 6 pm.

    A 1973 Irish silver tea service UPDATE: THE CLOSING BID WAS €1,950

    DEATH OF THE ARTIST RICHARD GORMAN

    Thursday, January 29th, 2026

    RICHARD GORMAN

    The death has taken place of the Irish artist Richard Gorman, primarily known for his abstract and colour field works. Kerlin Gallery, Dublin issued a statement saying: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Richard Gorman. It is also with a deep sense of gratitude and joy that we celebrate the time we shared together. For over three decades, we have had the honour of knowing and working with Richard, an artist of integrity, intelligence and grace.”

    Kerlin added: “Richard’s work is marked by a lifelong commitment to abstraction, craftsmanship and quiet innovation. His practice was rooted in looking – at landscape, at architecture, at the everyday rhythms of place – and transforming these observations into works of remarkable clarity and restraint. His paintings, sculpture and printmaking reveal a profound sensitivity to colour, structure and balance, shaped by years of travelling between Ireland, Italy and Japan.”

    VIEWING UNDERWAY IN CASTLECOME FOR FONSIE MEALY SALE

    Thursday, January 29th, 2026

    A pair of 19th century Japanese censers. UPDATE: THESE MADE €150 at hammer

    Viewing gets underway in Castlecomer today for Fonsie Mealy’s Making Room sale which will take place over two days on February 4 and 5. There are 633 lots in total including this pair of 19th century bronze Japanese censers of elephant form with pagodas. They are each 13 inches in height and the estimate is €250-€350, The catalogue is online.

    LINLEY AND KNUTTEL CHESS TABLE AND SET AT ADAM’S

    Wednesday, January 28th, 2026
    Graham Knuttel and David Linley with their collaborative project. UPDATE: THIS MADE €40,000 at hammer

    One of Graham Knuttel’s most striking creations is a chess set made in collaboration with the furniture designer and manufacturer David Linley. The limited edition (of 12) square table with marquetry chessboard top designed by Linley and silver and bronze chess pieces created by Knuttel is lot 5 at the Graham Knuttel II sale at Adam’s in Dublin on February 10. The four square table is supported by a tapered column on a walnut base, with a marquetry chessboard. The white chess pieces are made of solid silver, the black pieces are made of bronze. The estimate is €50,000-€80,000. It is the most expensively estimated lot in a sale of mostly paintings with some sculptures with estimates from €300 up. The catalogue is online

    ITALIAN FUTURIST WORK AT IRISH AUCTION

    Tuesday, January 27th, 2026

    Enrico Prampolini – Compoizione Speziale B,1950-1951 

    An abstract by Italian Futurist Enrico Prampolini, a lithograph by William Scott, three classic Andy Warhol Marilyn’s and a collection of mobile works on paper by Alexander Calder feature at the online modern and contemporary art sale by Lismore based Lot 100 which runs from January 29 to February 10.

    Prampolini’s Compoizione Speziale B was exhibited at Italy’s National Gallery of Modern Art in 1961.  The tempura on paper dates to 1950-51 and is estimated at €6,000-€8,000.  Italian Futurists do not feature regularly at auction in Ireland and this work highlights how Lot 100, now in its second year of operation, is bringing a different set of offerings. Warhol’s Marilyn’s, from the Sunday B. Morning screenprint series are each estimated at €800-€1,000. There are mobile lithographs by Alexander Calder (€250-€600) who will be the subject of a solo show at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris from April 15 to August 16.  A screenprint triptych of skateboards by Basquiat  is estimated at €600-€800 and William Scott’s Dead Fish, a lithograph from 1970, is estimated at €800-€1,000.

    Among the artists in the auction are Matisse, Sean Keating, Charles Tyrrell, Joan Miro, Norman McCaig,, Maurice MacGonigal, Patricia Jorgensen and Henry Moore.

    William Scott – Dead Fish 

    CAPTIVATING DIEGO RIVERA INK AND PAPER WORK AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, January 26th, 2026

    DIEGO RIVERA – UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR €88,900

    This captivating 1936 ink and colour on paper work by Diego Rivera, Mujer sentada de perfil con sombrero amarillo (Woman sitting in profile with yellow hat) from the collection of Doris Brynner comes up at Sotheby’s in Paris on January 27 with an estimate of €30,000-€50,000. The collector collaborated with Pierre Cardin, married Yul Brynner in 1960 and became a leading figure of elegance in 20th century high society and artistic circles. She had close friendships with Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor.  In 1997 Doris joined the House of Dior to re-invent its Maison and Gifts department, a role she held for two decades. Among the lots on offer are a Bulgari emerald, sapphire and diamond brooch once owned by Hepburn, a diamond brooch gifted by Taylor, a sketch by John Galliano, a drawing dedicated to Brynner by Karl Lagerfeld, two photographs by Andy Warhol and a three branch candleabrum by Claude Lalanne.

    A Chinese Chippendale carved gilt mirror

    Monday, January 26th, 2026

    Chinese Chippendale Mirror  UPDATE: THIS MADE 650 AT HAMMER

    The estimate on this Chinese Chippendale carved wood and gilt mirror surmounted by an eagle is €1,200-€2,200. It comes up as lot 15 at Gormley’s auction of contents from St. Martin’s, Trim, Co. Meath on January 27 at 5 pm. Around 480 lots will come under the hammer. St. Martin’s is the house where actor Mel Gibson stayed while Braveheart was being filmed in Ireland. On offer is the unique collection of Meath publican, hotelier and businessman Gerry Brady, who hosted the cast and crew. On offer is a 60 year collection of furniture, art, porcelain, glass and pub memorabilia. The catalogue is online.

    THE WINTER SHOW NOW IN FULL SWING IN NEW YORK

    Saturday, January 24th, 2026

    A 1699 English console table from the bedchamber of Queen Mary II at the Winter Show.

    No ordinary table, no ordinary chair, no ordinary fair.  The Winter Show, now in full swing in New York, offers an array of extraordinary objects distinguished not only by quality and rarity but by depth of scholarly research and provenance.

    A console table on display at the stand of venerable London antique furniture specialists Ronald Phillips, for instance, is from the bedchamber of Queen Mary II who jointly reigned with her husband William from 1689 to 1702 as England’s first and only co-monarchs.  The English 1699 table retains much of its original gilding.  It was carved and decorated on the reverse side at a later stage to create a centre table. The finial at the centre of the stretcher is original.  Bills for carving by Robert Derignee and gilding by Jean Pelletier, two notable Huguenot craftsmen, have been preserved in the Lord Chamberlain’s accounts from the royal wardrobe of 1696-1699.

    The chaise that Yves St Laurent owned and loved

    Maison Gerard of New York offer a lounge chair designed by Charlotte Perriand, le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret in 1928. It was manufactured as a series by Thonet France from 1930-1937 and sold under reference B306.  The original owner is unknown but Yves St Laurent bought it in the 1970’s for his private studio on Avenue de Breteuil in Paris. In the early 1980’s the photographer Duane Michals captured St. Laurent seated on the chaise in his studio.  It remained in his apartment until his death in 2008. Afterwards it was sent by his partner Pierre Bergé to furnish their New York rooms at the Hotel Pierre while most of the other possessions went to auction.

    Blue and White Delft vase

    A highlight at Aronson Antiquairs, Amsterdam is a blue and white Delft c1710 flower vase marked from Lambertus van Eenhoorn, owner of The Metal Pot factory, or his widow Margaretha Teckmann. The spade shaped body is painted on the front and reverse with a rooster among a profusion of blossoms and there are S scroll handles.  Early 18th century Delftware vases with intricate hand painted decoration and unusual forms are rare.

    A Louis XVI mantel clock 

    The Louis XVI mantel clock at Galerie Léage is a pre-revolutionary French piece with a movement signed by Gille l’Aine.  It is complete with a c1775 chased and gilt bronze mount and a celadon vase from the late Ming Dynasty.

    The show brings together more than 70 leading international dealers with an extraordinary range  of works from paintings, sculpture and works on paper to fine furniture, jewellery, silver, rare books and contemporary ceramics and glass.  Every object offered is vetted by over 120 specialists across 30 disciplines for authenticity, condition, provenance and significance.

    Among many rarities are a Wisteria lamp by Tiffany at Lillian Nassau, a Decanter print by Man Ray at Boccara Gallery, a 1902 Carlo Bugatti chair at Milord, a Georg Jensen six light silver chandelier at Greg Pepin, an Aesthetic Movement wall mirror by Herter Brothers of New York at Rose Uniacke, a pair of baguette diamond earrings by Cartier London in their original case at A La Vieille Russie, a collection of contemporary jewellery by the Greek artist Theodorus at Symbolic and Chase, one of the earliest printings of the Declaration of Independence at Peter Harrington, Murano masterpieces at Glass Past,  a marble statue of Dionysos at Galerie Cahn once in the collection of William Randolph Hearst and High Aspirations by Ernie Barnes from the collection of Harry Belafonte featuring a basketball player.  The Winter Show runs until February 1.

    FULLY INDOOR NATIONAL ANTIQUES FAIR AT LIMERICK RACECOURSE

    Saturday, January 24th, 2026

    Cork based dealer Trevor O’Callaghan will bring a selection of vintage diecast toys to the National Antiques, Art and Vintage fair at LImerick Racecourse this weekend.

    Trevor O’Callaghan will bring vintage diecast toys,  Country Mile Antiques will offer a selection of antique coffee grinders, Brian Hurley of Kinsale has porcelain, ceramics and crystal and they are among many dealers assembled at Limerick Racecourse this weekend for the fully indoor National Antiques Art and Vintage fair. Silver, jewellery, coins, antique furniture, tribal art, vintage fashion, art and all sorts of collectibles are to be found.  Doors open at 11 am on January 24-25.