THIS decorative card table, described as Irish by Sheppards, made a hammer price of €3,600 at the opening session of the three day Legacy of the Big House sale at Sheppards in Durrow today. It had been estimated at €3,000-€5,000. A platinum five stone ring made €18,000; an Irish brass bound peat bucket made €1,900; a Donegal carpet made €4,200 and a Donegal runner made €1,900; a Mappin and Webb plated oil lamp made €1,700; a pair of 19th century wingback armchairs made €2,400, a 1941 painting of Horses in a Parade Ring by the German artist Otto Dill made €3,200; a 19th century French kingwood commode made €2,800 and an Art Nouveau sterling silver punch bowl made €2,600.
A collection of ten artworks by Percy French sold for various prices from €3,400 to €12,000 (2). A French Empire bronze and gilded mantel clock made €6,500 and a Sevres and ormolu mantel clock made €7,000 and a late 17th century lacquered cabinet on stand made €5,500. The sale of around 1,500 lots, with 500 on offer each day, is continuing.
A Neo Classical marble chimney piece. UPDATE: THIS MADE €4,800 at hammer
The annual Legacy of the Big House sale over three days at Sheppards in Durrow on September 16, 27 and 28 offers 1,496 lots of period furniture, art, militaria, silver, jewellery, Asian art and collectibles including an electric guitar signed by the Rolling Stones. One of a number of rarities is a view of Cobh, Co. Cork before the advent of the railway built in 1860 by the early English lithographer John Brandard (1812-1863). Lot 118, which comes up on Tuesday, is estimated at €150-€200. There are Qing Dynasty hardwood palace cabinets, Limerick silver serving spoons, a punch ladle and a soup ladle, a neo classical marble chimney piece, a Donegal carpet, a platinum five stone diamond ring, art by Percy French and Mark O’Neill, Chinese ceramics and French mantle clocks among the top lots. Around 500 lots are to be sold on each day. Viewing is underway in Durrow and the catalogue is online.
John Brandard (1812-1863) lithograph titled “The Cove of Cork” UPDATE: THIS MADE €220 at hammer
Lemon Queen by Genieve Figgis at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 29,000 AT HAMMER
Propelled on to the international stage by the use of Twitter Genieve Figgis has a contemporary rags to riches story that breaks the mould. In just a decade the Dublin born artist has gone from creating art on the kitchen table and working part time in a shop in order to get by to a secondary market (art already sold once) turnover of €2.6 million and a primary market at auction in Hong Kong. The work she posted on the social media platform attracted the attention of renowned American painter and photographer Richard Prince. He bought some and subsequently introduced Figgis to New York where she is now represented by the Helwaser Gallery and has had a number of solo exhibitions. Figgis has been included in landmark exhibitions and is the first Irish artist commissioned by Dior to reinterpret their Lady Dior handbag.
Lemon Queen by Genieve Figgis comes up at Whyte’s in Dublin with an estimate of €25,000-€35,000. It is among an appetising selection at upcoming sales at Adams on September 27 and Whyte’s on October 2.
The Kiss by Rowan Gillespie at James Adam. UPDATE: THIS MADE 22,000 AT HAMMER
The sale of Important Irish Art at Adams offers sculpture, oil paintings, watercolours and tapestries by some of our most admired artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. An atmospheric Yeats – On a Western Quay – is one of a number of lots by the artist. Evening by Paul Henry is a pure landscape dating to 1924/25 and Eden, a late 1940’s Aubusson tapestry designed by Louis le Brocquy are among the main lots. There is striking art by Gerard Dillon and William Conor. 19th century art on offer includes rare works by Sir Thomas Alfred Jones, William John Hennessy and Howard Helmick along with art by James Arthur O’Connor and Thomas Rose Miles. The Kiss by Rowan Gillespie is a 16″ high bronze – number eight from an edition of nine – of a popular public full sized sculpture by Gillespie opposite the National Concert Hall on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin. It dates to 1990. Torso by the same artist is from 1994. Curiosities of the sale include a limited edition black and white photograph of Michael MacLiammoir by Fergus Bourke, the last ever stage photograph of the dramatist and actor and a leather bound journal by craft student Norah O’Kelly with illustrations by Sir William Orpen and Harry Clarke.
The last ever stage photograph of Micheal MacLiammoir at James Adam. UPDATE: THIS MADE 750 AT HAMMER
The sale by Whyte’s takes place at Freemason’s Hall on Molesworth St. with viewing at Whyte’s galleries. The catalogue cover lot is The Currach, Kilronan by Gerard Dillon. Still Waters by Sean Keating is an Aran Island work exhibited at the RHA in 1947. Another important lot is ‘He won’t bite you” by Sir John Lavery depicting an infant’s cautious encounter with a curious dog in a Scottish garden. The sale offers paintings by Letitia Hamilton, an early work by John Shinnors of Christine Keeler and a watercolour of Nassau St. in Dublin by Rose Barton once in the Mount Juliet collection of racehorse breeder Major Victor McCalmont and included in the Crawford Gallery Retrospective in 1987. Among the artists featured at Whytes are William Orpen, William Leech, Tony O’Malley, Norah McGuinness and Louis le Brocquy. There are small collections of art by Percy French, Charles Lamb and Patrick Leonard, an early portrait of Paul Henry by Robert Ponsonby Staples, and paintings by Arthur Maderson, Cecil Maguire, Ciaran Clear, Mark O’Neill, Graham Knuttel and Markey Robinson.
Nassau St. from outside The Kildare St. Club by Rose Barton at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 13,000 AT HAMMER
Large Irish Georgian mahogany and brass banded turf bucket with rope twist handle. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER
This good turf bucket with rope twist handle is among the top antique furniture lots at the Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork on September 23. The estimate is €2,000-2,500. Among the other main antique furniture lots are an early Georgian walnut chest on chest (€1,500-2,000), an Irish mahogany bookcase with dentil cornice possibly by Hicks (€1,000-1,500), a pair of Victorian walnut and marquetry inlaid side cabinets (€1,000-1,500) and an antique Irish oval hall mirror with green and clear glass studs. The catalogue is online.
GUITAR SIGNED BY THE ROLLING STONES. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER
A guitar signed by the Rolling Stones is among the more unusual lots at Sheppards three day Legacy of the Big House sale in Durrow on September 26, 27 and 28. The electric guitar is signed by Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Woods and Keith Richards. Lot 14 in the auction, which comes up on September 26 is estimated at €3,000-5,000. The three day auctions offers a total of 1499 lots of antique furniture, pictures and prints, Asian art, carpets, rugs, boxes, jewellery, musical instruments, arms and armour, silver and plate and various collectibles. Viewing gets underway in Durrow on September 23 and the catalogue is online.
Maurice MacGonigal PPRHA (1900 – 1979) – Autumn Fair Day, Clifden, Connemara (1972). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER
Anyone of a certain age would not have too much difficulty dating this oil on board by Maurice MacGonigal. The short skirts, the cars, the tarpaulin sheets are all aids to placing this charming painting redolent of its own time sometime in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s. It comes up as lot 29 at the James Adam sale of Important irish Art on the evening of September 27. Viewing gets underway at St. Stephen’s Green on September 22 and the catalogue is online.
Barbara Hepworth – Three Oblique Forms (Walk In) (1968). UPDATE: THIS MADE £5,830,000)
Barbara Hepworth’s Three Oblique Forms (Walk In) (1968) will lead Christie’s Modern British and Irish Art evening sale in London on October 18. Standing at almost three metres in height it is one of a rare and highly important group of monumental sculptures created by Barbara Hepworth in the 1960’s. They were intended to be set in open-air surroundings and make a new understanding of landscape. Three Oblique Forms (Walk In) is on view in the garden setting of St James’s Square, adjacent to Christie’s headquarters on London’s King Street, until October 18, a unique opportunity to enjoy the work in a public outdoor space accessible to all. The piece is estimated at £6,000,000-9,000,000.
A pair of Victorian brass and leaded lanterns. UPDATE: THESE MADE 850 AT HAMMER
A large Irish Georgian brass banded turf bucket, a watercolour drawing of Fisher’s Quay, Youghal by Norah McGuinness and an early Georgian walnut chest on chest are among the top lots at Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill on September 23. With everything from a rare pair of Victorian brass and leaded hall lanterns to an old metal CIE clockwork model double decker bus in need of attention this is a sale with something for everyone. A fine pair of antique cast iron urns on bases, a set of Cork silver tablespoons by Carden Terry and Jane Williams, a pair of Birmingham Corinthian column silver candlesticks, a collection of old oil lamps, a circular dining table, a Victorian oak partners desk, an American longcase clock, a portable blacksmiths forge and The State of the County and City of Cork (1815) by Charles Smith are among the statement pieces.
A mechanical model of an old CIE bus. UPDATE: THIS MADE 380 AT HAMMER
A 19th gold charm featuring Napoleon, courtesy of Dublin jeweller JW Weldon, will be spotlighted at Ireland’s collection of statement pieces, Timeless, the Irish Antique Dealers Fair, which takes place in Dublin’s RDS from September 15-17. Details from timelessfair.ie.
With Timeless in full swing at the RDS in Dublin today and tomorrow and a number of upcoming sales of Important Irish art in prospect the busy autumn season continues on its merry way in Ireland. The annual Irish Antique Dealers’ Fair running for the 56th time offers an eclectic blend of contemporary and antique focused exhibitors and is designed to appeal to both young contemporaries and seasoned collectors. With its eye watering results the Freddie Mercury sales at Sotheby’s this month (his Yamaha grand piano made just over €2 million) demonstrated once again the importance of celebrity and in this respect Timeless does not disappoint. Statement pieces on offer include a rare bookcase favoured both by David Bowie and Karl Lagerfeld and a 400 year old diamond ring that would once have travelled to the UK along the old Silk Road.
The Memphis Milano Carlton bookcase offered by Acquired was designed by Ettore Sottsass and once graced a Florence palazzo. Its ground breaking form challenged existing rules, something immediately recognised by fashion and rock icons Lagerfeld and Bowie, both of whom had one. It is priced at €17,000. J.W. Weldon will offer a 17th century diamond ring crafted in England, the oldest ring they have ever handled. It is priced at €3,950. Among other rarities is a 9th century French charm from a bracelet which features a cannon and a statue of Napoleon and a folding travelling silver chess set designed in 1972 to commemorate the Fischer-Spassky world championship. “The best of the past is also best for the future”, Garret Weldon, president of the IADA remarked. “Our trade is the original sustainable industry and helps the planet through a reduction in manufacturing and waste”.
On a Western Quay by Jack B Yeats at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 110,000 AT HAMMER
Important Irish art sales are in the offing at James Adam on September 27 and at Whytes on October 2. A 1923 oil on panel by Yeats – On a Western Quay – is a highlight at Adams and estimated at €100,000-€150,000. It depicts pilot Michael Gillen, who guided ships along the Garavogue River to the Sligo quayside, and who appears in several paintings and drawings by Yeats. Another top lot with a similar estimate in this auction of 158 lots is Evening by Paul Henry c1924-25. It comes from a private collection in Cork. The sale offers highly collectible art by artists like Louis le Brocquy, Gerard Dillon, William Conor and Rowan Gillespie. Viewing gets underway on September 22 and the catalogue is online.
The Currach, Kilronan by Gerard Dillon at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 50,000 AT HAMMER
Still Waters by Sean Keating and The Currach, Kilronan by Gerard Dillon, each estimated at €60,000-€80,000 are highlights at Whyte’s sale of Irish and International art on October 2. Lord George Hell by Sir William Orpen is based on a Regency reprobate, the principal character in Max Beerbohm’s 1896 story The Happy Hypocrite. Hell sets out to woo dancer Jenny Mere with whom he has fallen in love wearing a mask to cover his pock marked face. When he succeeds and removes the mask his face has miraculously healed and become “saintly”, such is the power of love. The story was dramatised into a one act play and in his oil on canvas Orpen set out to create the impression of a late 18th/early 19th century print (€10,000-€15,000). Viewing at Whyte’s gets underway on September 25 and the catalogue is online.
Joan Miró (1893-1983) – Peinture (Femmes, lune, étoiles). UPDATE: THIS MADE €20,750,000
Peinture (Femmes, lune, etoiles), a museum quality Miro, will headline Christie’s Avant Garde sale in Paris on October 20. Painted in 1949 it has been displayed in the La Colombe d’Or at St. Paul de Vence since its acquisition from the nearby Galerie Maeght in 1950. Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Braque and Calder were among the artists invited to leave work in lieu of payment at this inn where the food is as legendary as the art. Peinture (Femmes, lune, etoiles) has been exhibited at the Centre Pompidou, the Fondation Maeght, The Fundacio Miro, the Grand Palais in Paris and the Fondation Pierre Gianadda. Founded in 1920 La Colombe d’Or is now run by the third generation of the Roux family. Paul Roux’s passion for painting was the starting point for what is one of the most prestigious 20th century art collections in the world. The sale of this work will help the family expand the collection further. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR €20,750,000
