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This emerald and diamond serpent brooch comes up as lot 85 at the James Adam sale of fine jewellery and watches in Dublin on September 13. The realistically modelled snake with brilliant and single-cut diamond highlights and emerald cabochon eyes, with engraved body and underside is by Zurich based jewellery Meister and was made c1968. The estimate is 4,500-5,500. The auction offers a selection of 243 lots, the catalogue is online and viewing gets underway today in Dublin.
Paintings and furniture in the home of a husband and wife over a remarkable span of almost 125 years will come under the hammer at ‘Churchill to Eden: The Collection of The Earl and Countess of Avon’ at Christie’s in London on October 21. On offer is an eclectic collection – the property of Sir Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, K.G., M.C., P.C. (1897–1977), the former British Conservative Party politician who served as Foreign Secretary (1935–1938; 1940– 1945 and 1951–1955) and Prime Minister of the UK (1955 – 1957) and his second wife, Clarissa Spencer-Churchill (1920–2021).
The sale is an evocative journey into an almost vanished world of politics, society and inter-connections. It will include English furniture, Impressionist and Modern Art, Modern British Art, Antiquities, Chinese Works of Art, Islamic Works of Art, Books and Manuscripts and Silver, all collected by Lord and Lady Avon over many decades. The couple met at a dinner party in 1947 and were married in 1952 in London, garnering international media attention. The reception was held at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister and hosted by Winston Churchill. Eden eventually succeeded Churchill as Prime Minister in 1955. Upon retiring from the House of Commons and being elevated to the House of Lords, Eden was created Earl of Avon in 1961.
UPDATE: THE SALE TOTALLED £2,766,176
Away from his life of politics Eden had a passion for art from an early age, with a keen eye which helped to form this collection. Clarissa Eden counted friendships with Lucian Freud and Greta Garbo among others. Unsurprisingly for a British Prime Minister the collection is led by important Modern British Art; including two paintings by Winston Churchill given to Eden during his political career, three works by Sir John Lavery and works given to Lady Avon by her friends Cecil Beaton and David Jones. There is art by Picasso, Braque, Degas, Laurencin and Corot. The sale also features highlights from Lord Avon’s library including signed Churchill, Field Marshal Montgomery and de Gaulle editions, alongside signed works to Lady Avon from notable authors Evelyn Waugh, Noel Coward and Cecil Beaton.
Many lots graced the Eden’s Green Drawing Room at 10 Downing Street and featured in archive issues of Country Life in 1961 and in Apollo in 1969 when Lord and Lady Avon were living at Fyfield Manor in Wiltshire where they resided until Lord Avon’s death in 1977. Clarissa lived to the age of 101 and died in 2021.
A Donegal carpet attributed to C F A Voysey, one of the most noteworthy designers of the Arts and Crafts Movement, is the most expensively estimated lot at an auction by Reilly’s Antiques of Prosperous, Co. Kildare on September 10. It is estimated at 3,400-3,700. The Donegal Carpet Factory was founded in 1898 by the Scottish textile manufacturer Alexander Morton. The work of the factory became world famous in the opening decades of the 20th century. Carpets were made on a 42′ wide hand knotting loom mainly by local women to designs by notable designers like Voysey. There are 418 lots of antique furniture and collectibles in the sale. The catalogue is online.
Gibson, the iconic American-made instrument brand, and Gibson Gives–its philanthropic arm–are bringing the music community together to stand behind the Ukraine Relief effort, raising awareness and funds for the people of Ukraine. Gibson luthiers have crafted a limited edition run of Guitars For Peace Les Paul Custom electric guitars, displaying the colours of the Ukrainian Flag. Gibson partnered with artists to perform with the Ukraine guitars on stage this summer. Autograph books traveling alongside each guitar have been signed by Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Slash, Fher Olvera of Maná, Nile Rodgers of Chic, Mark Knopfler, Lzzy Hale, Margo Price, Alex Lifeson, Blossoms, The Fratellis, Kasabian, Madness, Maisie Peters, Paloma Faith, The Charlatans, The Vaccines, Toyah, My Chemical Romance, and actor Jason Momoa, among others.
Bidding at Julien’s Auctions will open on October 11 as part of the ”Icons & Idols: Rock ‘N’ Roll” live and online auction which runs until November 11, 12 and 13. The sale will be at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York
A stylish portrait requiring further research, a 19th century walnut carved bench with a motto we could all adopt, vintage hats in their original Munster Arcade boxes, a clock carved with the Cork coat of arms and a valuable Patek Philippe wristwatch will contribute to an interesting sale at Lynes and Lynes on September 10. Viewing gets underway in Carrigtwohill today for an auction made up of contents from Ballynoe House, Rushbrooke, Cobh, a large Cork city residence and several individual clients. The most expensively estimated lot is the Patek Philippe Nautilus automatic gentlemans’ wristwatch from Ballynoe House, which has recently been sold. It is estimated at a cool €30,000-€50,000 and auctioneer Denis Lynes reckons that it could well exceed the top figure.
A 19th century walnut carved long hall bench with a central heraldic shield is also from Ballynoe and estimated at €1,000-€1,500. It is carved with the motto ‘Nun Quam Non Paratus’ meaning Never Unprepared. A half portrait of a young lady painted in the style of Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) bears an Agnews label on the back. In a period frame it was purchased at the contents auction of Galtee Castle, Co. Tipperary, which was demolished circa 1941. The castle was built in 1780 by the Kingstons and remodelled in 1892 by Abel Buckley, MP of Ryecroft Hall near Manchester. The venerable firm of Agnews, a leading London Old Master art dealer since 1860, was founded in Manchester in 1817. Located since 1877 at a prominent gallery at Old Bond St. the firm of Thomas Agnew and Sons closed in 2013 and re-opened at St. James’s Place in London. Their archive was given to the National Gallery. The painting is estimated at €1,000-€2,000.
A curiosity of the sale is an oak mantel clock carved on the top with the Cork Coat of Arms. The nautical theme is enhanced with flanking cannons and anchors set on a cushion base with swag decoration. This product of the Cork School of carving is estimated at €300-€500. Of vintage interest is a collection of ladies hats in their original Munster Arcade boxes (€50-€80). A top hat by W. Dennehy and Sons of Patrick St. and Castle St., Cork (€40-€60) is accompanied by a shooting stick.The sale kicks off with a pair of Irish Georgian mahogany and brass bound turf and plate buckets (€600-€1,000) and a large Waterford 10 branch chandelier comes with an estimate of €2,000-€3,000. The catalogue for this sale of 354 lots is online.
A complete set of Damien Hirst’s matchbooks from his Pharmacy restaurant comes up as lot 119 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s auction of Important Irish Art online until September 12. On offer is the complete set of 60 matchbooks with an estimate of 800-1,200. The catalogue is online and the sale will be on view in Skibbereen from September 8.
This 19th century Danish walnut crossbanded drinks cabinet is lot 465 at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on September 4. Viewing for this auction is now underway and the catalogue is online. There is a selection of furniture, silver, art, jewellery and collectibles among the 518 lots on offer. The cabinet here is estimated at 1,000-2,000.
David Hockney’s Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime (1969) will highlight Christie’s 20th / 21st Century evening sale in London on October 13. Depicting a sublime view in the South of France it is a tribute to Hockney’s emotional state at the height of his relationship with Peter Schlesinger and anticipates some of the artist’s greatest works. The estimate is £7,000,000-10,000,000.
This is one of four paintings based on photographs taken during a trip to France with Hockney’s then partner in autumn 1968. It was at this time that the pair first spent time in the home of the film director, Tony Richardson, near Saint Tropez. They became regular guests at the lavish parties Richardson threw at ‘Le Nid du Duc’, set in the mountains just outside Le Garde-Freinet. Hockney had returned to London in 1968 after spending four years in California. The South of France became an instant draw for him and Schlesinger and would come to play a central role in their relationship. It was Richardson’s home that became the setting for his masterpiece Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) when the relationship ended in 1971.
This 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider by Scaglietti sold for $22,005,000 at RM Sotheby’s in California. Over three days in Monterey, California, RM Sotheby’s made $239,258,340 US at auction, setting a record for the highest grossing automotive auction of all time and netting a higher total than all other Monterey Car Week 2022 auctions combined. Seven of the top ten lots were by Ferrari. Porsche also presented a strong showing, with a 2022 911 “Sally Special” becoming the most expensive factory-new Porsche ever to sell at auction at $3.6 million, while a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster by Sindelfingen was RM Sotheby’s second-highest sale of the week at $9,905,000. An impressive 180 cars were sold over the three auctions, which saw bidders from 38 different countries. Fifty-two of them sold for over $1 million.
This 19th century rank badge, embroidered with silk thread on a dark ground, comes up as lot 50 at Hegarty’s online sale in Bandon. The Chinese tradition of wearing rank badges (Buzi), also known as Mandarin Squares, to demonstrate civil, military or imperial rank began in 1391 during the Ming Dynasty and continued throughout the Qing Dynasty up until 1911. A badge featuring a bird (such as the one here) identified the wearer as a civil official. It is estimated at 180-250. The sale gets underway online at 6 pm on August 31 and there are 260 lots.
