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    ON VIEW AT ST. AUSTIN’S – AUCTION IN DURROW

    Saturday, July 13th, 2024

    19th century gilt framed overmantle UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A contents auction is always a draw so it would be wise to anticipate plenty of bidders and buyers to see treasures aplenty at elegant 18th century St. Austin’s, Coolgreaney, Co. Wexford.

    More than 1,390 lots from this beautifully restored and modernised two storey over basement period home dating to 1763 will come under the hammer at Sheppards in Durrow on July 16, 17 and 18.  There will be viewings at the house, located between Gorey and Arklow, today, tomorrow and next Monday from 10 am to 5 pm on each day.

     A pair of 18th century console tables  UPDATE: THESE MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER

    Art and furniture highlights include Achill Island by Grace Henry last sold at Sotheby’s in 2007 (€8,000-€14,000), On the Liffey and The Monastery Wall by Letitia M Hamilton and Gathering Turf by James Humbert Craig (all €5,000-€8,000), a pair of 18th century parcel gilt console tables (€5,000-€8,000), a 19th century large carved giltwood overmantle mirror and an 18th century Dublin longcase clock by William Edwards (both €3,000-€5,000), a c1820 French Restoration ormolu and bronze mantle clock (€1,500-€2,500) and a large Cork Regency brass fender (€1,400-€1,800).

    The property which has been sold was home for over 30 years to Alan and Aine Deacon, who had lived in Hong Kong for some time.  This is reflected in an eclectic collection of Irish, European and Oriental art and furniture as well as early Irish cartography and collectibles.  Much of the furniture, of which there is lots, was acquired from the sale of the original contents when St. Austin’s was home to Major and Mrs. H M E Grogan.

    Chinese Famille Jaune table lamp UPDATE: THIS MADE 360 AT HAMMER

    Included is a collection of Bordeaux wines, rare whiskeys, kitchenalia, contents of the stables, out offices, garden furniture and statuary.  There are some rare edition Snaffles prints (€6,000-€8,000) and the most expensively estimated lot is a white gold Art Deco target ring with sapphires and a three carat diamond (€25,000-€35,000). A Dun Emer Donegal Phoenix carpet, a Mughal hand woven carpet, a Sarouk Tree of Life Carpet and a Persian  Kirman carpet are all estimated at €5,000-€8,000.

    The garden selection includes urns, furniture, planters, lighting and ornaments.  Irish vernacular lots include a settle bed, chairs, stools and some pewter and metal tankards.  There are two Japanese silk embroidered wedding kimonos (€100-€150 each), a good selection of various sorts of lighting, 33 lots of wines and spirits, two vintage telephones, 37 lots of arms and armour and a selection of antique boxes.  Sales, broken into five sessions for the convenience of bidders, get underway in Durrow and online at 10 am on Tuesday.

    One of a pair of large neo-classical garden urns  UPDATE: THESE MADE 3,400 AT HAMMER

    LADY STANHOPE’S SILVER WAITERS AT FOLEY AUCTION

    Saturday, July 13th, 2024

    A pair of London silver waiters dated 1771 UPDATE: THESE MADE 500 AT HAMMER

    Much interest at Aidan Foley’s sale in Kilcolgan next week will centre around a number of lots consigned from the estate of the late Lady Trina Stanhope of Adare.  The daughter of the 11th Earl of Harrington and Ann Chute died unexpectedly in March. There is a small selection of silver headed by a pair of London silver waiters from 1771 (€800-€1,200), paintings by George Gillespie and Maurice Wilks,  equestrian art, collectibles and garden implements from the collection of a keen gardener who was based at Castleroberts, Adare.

    There is value to be had in furniture at this auction but in the current climate of closures there must be a question mark over whether a stand alone restaurant counter will attract a whole lot of competitive bidding.  A fully fitted rather stylish serving counter – lot 1000 out of a total of 1490 – is estimated at €2,000-€4,000. The online antiques and interiors auction takes place on July 15, 16 and 17 from 5 pm on each day.

    A stand alone restaurant serving counter

    MARITIME SCENE BY EDWIN HAYES AT JAMES ADAM

    Wednesday, July 10th, 2024

    EDWIN HAYES RHA RI ROI (1819-1904) – Maritime Scene. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER

    Maritime Scene, an oil on board by the marine artist Edwin Hayes, comes up at an online picture auction by James Adam on July 16. Born in Bristol but brought up in Ireland he studied art in Dublin and first exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1842. He later moved to London and painted seascapes and coastal scenes all around Europe. This painting is estimated at €3,000-€5,000. Adams auction offers 302 lots and the catalogue is online.

    CO. WEXFORD HOUSE CONTENTS AUCTION BY SHEPPARDS

    Sunday, July 7th, 2024

    Cork Regency brass fender. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,300 AT HAMMER

    Sheppards will offer contents from St. Austins, Gorey, Co. Wexford on July 16 and 17 with viewing on the premises on July 13 and 14. More than 1,300 lots will be on offer and highlights include a large 19th century gilt overmantle, an 18th century Dublin longcase clock, a large Cork brass fender and art by Letitia M Hamilton, James Humbert Craig and Grace Henry.  The sale will be held in Durrow and the catalogue is online now.

    ARTIST JAMES HUMBERT CRAIG REPRESENTED IRELAND AT OLYMPICS

    Saturday, July 6th, 2024

    The Sunlit Valley, The Rosses, Co. Donegal by James Humbert Craig. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,000 AT HAMMER

    Art as an event in the Olympic Games was abandoned after 1948 because artists were considered to be professional and the games were for amateurs.  That was then and this is now so our professional golfers Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, both qualified to represent Ireland at the games this year which get underway in Paris on July 26, have nothing to worry about.

    At a time from 1912 to 1948 when medals were awarded for painting and sculpture inspired by sport, as well as to musicians, writers and architects, the northern Irish artist James Humbert Craig (1877-1944) was part of the Painting Event at the 1932 summer olympics in Los Angeles.  He did not win but his landscapes are very highly regarded. One of them, an oil on canvas titled The Sunlit Valley, Rosses, Co. Donegal, will lead Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer art sale in Castlecomer on July 10 with an estimate of €6,000-€8,000.  It is the most expensively estimated artwork at the sale.

    The auction, on view in Castlecomer next Monday and Tuesday, features 345 lots of Irish and international art and sculpture along with Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian paintings.

    Athlone Castle by James Lawson Stewart. UPDATE: THIS MADE 300 AT HAMMER

    A topographical View of Athlone in 1853 from an elevated site attributed to George Vincent Cole is estimated at €300-€400 and a watercolour of Athlone Castle by  British artist James Lawson Stewart (1829-1911) shows many features now disappeared (€400-€500).  A hand coloured print of Edinburgh Castle from Holyrood House by Charles Windsor, now King of England, signed and dated on the lower right, is estimated at €800-€1,000.  There is a similar estimate on an abstract landscape attributed to Andre Lhote.

    Lot 261 is a bronze bust of Roger Casement attributed to Marshall Hutson.  Though unsigned it is similar in style to the work of the Cork artist who died in 2001 and is estimated at €1,000-€1,500.  Among his sculpted works is the stone crest of the City of Cork at the headquarters of Cork Harbour Commissioners at Custom House Street in Cork.

    Ar an Costa by Daniel Corkery (1878-1964). UPDATE: THIS MADE 360 AT HAMMER

    Ar an Costa is a watercolour of a coastal scene with figures on a beach by Daniel Corkery (1878-1964), a close friend of Terence McSwiney who became Professor of English at UCC in 1930.  One of a group who established the Cork Dramatic Society in 1908 he wrote plays and short stories, played the cello, took night classes in painting at the Crawford and was author of The Hidden Ireland, a 1924 study of the poetry of 18th century Irish language poetry in Munster.  Lot 44 at Mealy’s is estimated at €180-€220 and was formerly in the collection of  An t’Athair Eric Mac Fhinn (1895-1987) of Galway.

    There is a portrait of Walter Osborne by Augustus Burke (€3,000-€4,000), a pencil sketch of John O’Leary at trial by John Butler Yeats (€400-€500), a watercolour of the Rock of Cashel by Patrick Hennessy (€400-€600) and an oil of Country Cottages, Ireland c1810 by William Mulready (€700-€1,000) among a selection on offer that is both varied and affordable.  

    The sale will be on view in Castlecomer on July 8 and 9 and will begin at 2 pm on July 10.  The catalogue is online. Nowadays the Venice Biennale is often referred to informally as the Olympics of art.

    WAREHOUSE SALE AT ADAMS IS WORTH A RUMMAGE

    Friday, July 5th, 2024

    GEORGE I BURR MAPLE BUREAU BOOKCASE. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600 AT HAMMER

    In Dublin James Adam will offer this George I burr maple bookcase in a timed online warehouse auction on July 10. The estimate is 2,000-4,000 and a starting bid of 200 is being sought at this stage. The bookcase is to be sold without reserve. In the manner of Coxted and Woster it is in three sections with arched mirrored doors, a fitted interior and a slope front desk. The sale will be on view in Dublin on July 8 and 9 and the catalogue, with 316 lots, is online.

    ART AND DESIGN AT DE VERES SUMMER SALE

    Thursday, July 4th, 2024

    Rosewood sideboard by Gianfranco Frattini. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER

    This Italian rosewood credenza dates to the 1960’s and comes up at de Veres timed summer online art and design auction which runs until July 24. It was designed by Gianfranco Frattini for internationally renowned La Permanente Mobili Cantù with shelf gallery back above drawers with shaped handles, on metal legs. The estimate is 600-900. The auction of over 150 lots offers a selection of art along with furniture, lamps, mirrors and collectibles by renowned designers.

    ANYONE FOR SOME IRISH FREE STATE CHICKEN?

    Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024

    Attributed to Sean Keating (1889-1977) – Irish Free State Chicken. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER

    In 1928 Sean Keating painted a finished design in gouache entitled Irish Free State Chicken. Commissioned by the recently-formed Empire Marketing Board it was part of a campaign to promote the sale of agricultural produce, including Irish produce, internationally. Keating produced three images for the campaign, to be used as the basis for posters and billboards; the other two designs were for bacon and dairy.   In his finished version of Irish Free State Chicken, along with a donkey and cart and a multitude of white poultry, he included the figures of men and women he had sketched on the Aran Islands, building up an image that conveyed the spirit of independence he so admired in the West of Ireland. This work, which comes up at Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer art sale in Castlecomer on July 10, is close to Keating’s finished design. There are also significant differences, and it is possibly a preparatory sketch. Mealys say that the provenance of this work also suggests it is by Keating.  The estimate is 3,000-5,000. The catalogue for the sale is online.

    NEW WORLD RECORD FOR TITIAN AT CHRISTIE’S

    Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024

    TITIAN – REST ON THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT

    There was a new world auction record to Titian at Christie’s in London this evening when his early masterpiece Rest on the Flight into Egypt made £17,560,000. The painting was offered by Lord Bath and the Longleat Trustees as part of their long-term investment strategy. It has been owned by Dukes, Archdukes and Holy Roman Emperors, by Napoleon and stolen in the late 20th century.

    Lord Bath said“It has been fabulous to see the interest in Titian’s work as this unique painting was previewed in the lead-up to this evening’s auction. It has been well-received which clearly demonstrates how the fascination with this exquisite early masterpiece has been maintained across the centuries. It has an extraordinary history, looted by Napoleon, bought by the 4th Marquess in 1878 and then stolen from Longleat in 1995 before miraculously being recovered. As the next chapter in the Rest on the Flight into Egypt’s story is written, I am pleased with the outcome of tonight; which will support our considerable long-term investment strategy at Longleat to build on the vision and legacy of my ancestors for the benefit of future generations.”  The Titian was the top lot at Christie’s Classic Week evening sales, Old Masters Part I and The Exceptional sale, which realised a combined total of  £50,788,420.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 4, 2024)

    HIRST’S BUTTERFLY SPIN AT MORGAN O’DRISCOLL SALE

    Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024

    DAMIEN HIRST (B.1965) BRITISH – BUTTERFLY SPIN. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,900 AT HAMMER

    Butterfly Spin by Damien Hirst comes up as lot 17 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Off the Wall online art auction which draws to a close from 6.30 pm this evening (July 2). The estimate for the acrylic on card is 3,000-5,000, making it the most expensively estimate lot in the sale. More than 450 lots of affordable art will come under the hammer and the catalogue is online.