Horse paintings by Basil Blackshaw usually attract plenty of interest. This one comes up as Lot 21 at Morgan O’Driscolls Irish art online auction which runs until the evening of September 13. The oil on board measures 12″ x 14″ and is estimated at 4,000-6,000. There is an Emer Gallery, Belfast label on the back. The sale offers a wide variety of art and sculpture including Everyday Life (2019) by the French born Los Angeles based street artist known as Mr. Brainwash exhorting us all to: “Follow Your Dreams”.
UPDATE: THE BLACKSHAW MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER, EVERYDAY LIFE BY MR. BRAINWASH MADE 16,000 AT HAMMER
This 1798 hand coloured etching by the British caricaturist James Gillray is of Napoleon Buonaparte hearing of Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile and swearing by his sword to extirpate the English from off the Earth. It comes up as a rather timely lot 9 at the Collector’s Cabinet sale by Mullen’s of Laurel Park, Bray on September 11 with an estimate of 200-300. A number of commemorative events and auctions are being held around the globe this year to mark the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon. The online sale at Mullens offers 546 varied lots militaria, historical memorabilia, 275 lots antiquarian books and modern books including signed first editions, sporting memorabilia and more. UPDATE: THIS ETCHING MADE 340 AT HAMMER
ONE of the most historic items at the Howth Castle sale, the great sword of Howth, made a hammer price of 40,000 at day two of Fonsie Mealy’s Howth Castle contents sale today. It has been estimated at 10,000-15,000. The auctioneer announced that it would be staying in Ireland. According to tradition, it was used by Sir Armoricus Tristram, who arrived at Howth with Sir John de Courcy in the year 1177. It has been in the St Lawrence family for many generations and a more sober assessment dates the sword to the late 15th century, so it may well have been borne by Sir Armoricus’s descendant Sir Nicholas St Lawrence, 16th Lord & 3rd Baron Howth. He commanded the “billmen” (wielders of a fearsome chopping blade mounted on a strong staff) at the battle of Knockdoe in 1504, in which the army of the Lord Deputy, the Earl of Kildare, defeated that of Ulick Burke, Lord of Clanricarde. The Sword is first recorded in an inventory of 1748.
Again on the second day of the sale at Howth Castle there was competitive bidding from Ireland and abroad for once off items of rarity. A George IV silver gilt model of the Warwick Vase by Philip Rundell, London, 1820 made 24,000 at hammer and an Irish William IV silver gilt Warwick Vase by Richard Sawyer junior Dublin 1836 made 23,000. Each had been estimated at 8,000-12,000. An Irish George II silver salver by John Hamilton, Dublin 1726-27 made 21,000 over a top estimate of 7,000. A jewel cut breast star of The Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick together with a small ceremonial sword made 32,000 at hammer over a top estimate of 10,000. William Ulick Tristram St. Lawrence, 4th Earl of Howth (1827-1909) was appointed knight of the order in May 1884.
EMERALD AND DIAMOND BRACELET, CIRCA 1945. UPDATE: THIS MADE €30,000 AT HAMMER
THIS c1945 em emerald and diamond bracelet is one of the highlights at Adams evening and online sale of fine jewellery and watches in Dublin on September 14. The geometric open work design bracelet with graduated cabochon emeralds is estimated at 30,000-40,000. There is a similar estimate on a pair of fancy coloured diamond and pendant earrings. With everything from a c1960 bow diamond brooch by Bulgari (18,000-28,000) to a tri coloured trinity gold ring by Cartier (800-1,000) the sale of 102 lots caters for a variety of budgets. The catalogue is online.
THE opening day of the sale of contents from Howth Castle exceeded all expectations. There has been huge international interest in an auction of contents from a home that has been in the same family for 800 years. Again and again prime lots far exceeded the top estimate. Late in the day a pair of early 18th century Delft vases sold for 38,000 at hammer, 38 times the top estimate of 1,000. A pair of c1738 Irish carved giltwood and gesso side tables made 168,000 over a top estimate of 50,000.
An important mid 18th century Irish decanter stand sold for a hammer price of 48,000 at Fonsie Mealy’s sale. As was the case with many lots this was after a battle between a telephone bidder, probably Irish, and an internet bidder from the UK. It went to the internet. Regarded as one of the finest examples of early Irish furniture it had been estimated at 20,000-30,000. A set of prehistoric Giant Irish Elk antlers and skull made 23,000 on the hammer over a top estimate of 18,000. The Georgian mahogany dining table on two quadruple centre pods and two outer tripod bases made 29,000 at hammer and the full length portrait of Jonathan Swift by Francis Bindon made a hammer price of 234,000 which was less than the estimate of 300,000-500,000. The good news is that an Irish bidder fought off international competition and this painting will be staying in Ireland.
A Louis XVI French ormolu mantel clock by Regnault of Paris with two matching candlesticks – a gift from Marie Antoinette to her lady in waiting Marie Therese de Barmont – made 28,000 at hammer. It had been estimated at 4,000-6,000. An allegorical 18th century Irish School relief depicting the taking in 1575 of Lord Howth’s grandson and heir to the castle by Grace O’Malley, Ireland’s pirate queen, made 25,000 at hammer over a top estimate of 12,000. After protracted negotiations the child was returned and one condition was that the gates of Howth should never again be shut at dinner time.
The sale continues on September 9.
One of a pair of c1738 Irish carved giltwood and gesso side tables which sold for 168,000 over a top estimate of 50,000THIS PAIR OF EARLY 18TH CENTURY DELFT VASES MADE 38,000 AT HAMMER OVER AN ESTIMATE OF 700-1,000
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for August 12, August 23, August 31 and September 4, 2021)
Fonsie Mealy’s Howth Castle sale got off to a flying start today as collectors vied for blue a white and coloured Oriental porcelains. A 17th/early 18th century baluster vase and cover made 14,000 at hammer over a top estimate of 3,000. It has a six character mark to the base and is decorated with Royal subjects and attendants. Am 18th century Kangxi blue and white Gu vase with a top estimate of 3,000 made 12,000 on the hammer. An 18th century Famille Rose baluster shaped vase and cover with a top estimate of 1,800 made 4,800 on the hammer. A pair of Nankin blue and white platters with a set of three similar smaller dishes made 1,300 over a top estimate of 450 and two Xiangshi period triple gourd blue and white cafe au lait vases made 3,200 over a top estimate of 1,500. An 18th century blue and white jar and cover decorated with children at play made 7,500 over a top estimate of 1,000 and a large Chinese bronze gilt figure of a Buddha with a top estimate of 1,100 made 2,500. A large Majolica Palissy type oval dish made 8,600 at hammer over a top estimate of 350 and an 18th century bronze incense burner in the shape of a Foo dog with a top estimate of 600 made 5,000 on the hammer.
The latest in the series of collectibles auctions at Mullen’s includes historical memorabilia, rare and antiquarian books, militaria, arms and armour and sporting memorabilia. The live and online auction, which takes place on September 11, offers a variety of collectibles from a 1913-16 Irish Volunteers captains tunic to 24 mostly signed books by the Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney. There are 55i lots in total.
AN IRISH VOLUNTEER 1913-1916 TUNIC. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
SEAN MCSWEENEY HRHA (1935-2018) – The Red Road. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER
THE Red Road by Sean McSweeney comes up as lot 12 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online art sale, which runs until September 13 with an estimate of €2,000-3,000. The auction features more than 220 lots of art and sculpture by artists ranging from William Crozier and Kenneth Maguire to Kenneth Webb and Pauline Bewick. There is sculpture by John Behan, Imogen Stuart, Patrick O’Reilly, Melanie le Brocquy, Michael Foley and others.
This presentation copy of Dubliners signed by James Joyce is among the highlights of The Exceptional Literature Collection of Theodore B. Baum, to be sold in two parts at Christie’s in New York this month. It is estimated at $150,000-250,000. Inscribed copies of Dubliners are very rare and only three have been recorded at auction in the past 80 years. This one is the only example still in its original dust jacket. It is inscribed by Joyce to his publisher Crosby Gaige: “To Crosby Gaige James Joyce Paris 25.V.28.” This inscription dates to just five months after Gaige published Anna Livia Plurabelle, a section of Finnegans Wake, in a signed limited edition of 850 copies.
On November 28, 1905 Joyce mailed the manuscript of Dubliners to Grant Richards, who accepted it for publication in February 1906 and announced it the following month in The First Catalogue of Books Published by Grant Richards. In April, however, objections from the printer halted production. Joyce wrote an angry letter to Richards on 5 May: “You tell me in conclusion that I am endangering my future and your reputation. I have shown you earlier in the letter the frivolity of the printer’s objections and I do not see how the publication of Dubliners as it now stands in manuscript could possibly be considered an outrage on public morality…” (Herbert Gorman, James Joyce, pp.149). Although Joyce agreed to a few alterations, Richards soon abandoned his plans for Dubliners. Joyce offered the book to others, including Elkin Mathews and George Roberts at Maunsel. Maunsel printed an edition of 1,000 copies by July 1910 but this was destroyed by the printers because of objectionable passages. At the most, only a few sets of page proofs of this edition were retained by Joyce.
Joyce returned to Richards on 23 November 1914, committed to publishing the book as it was written, which by then had grown by two stories, “A Little Cloud” and “The Dead,” the masterpiece with which the collection concludes. Joyce guaranteed the sale of 130 copies in Trieste. Richards agreed, signed a contract on 4 March 1914 and published the book on 15 June. 1,250 sets of sheets were printed, of which approximately 746 were bound in this edition. The remaining 504 sets were sold by Huebsch in New York.
Mr. Baum’s library of literary first editions is among the finest ever assembled, built over the course of decades as he worked closely with top dealers and auction houses to locate the best copies of the most beloved books. The collection is particularly strong in works by English and American authors—from Edmund Spencer and John Milton in the 16th & 17th centuries through Jonathan Swift, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Charles Dickens in the 18th & 19th centuries, all the way to Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison and more in the 20th century.
The live online sale is on September 14. Part II of the online auction runs from September 2-17.
UPDATE: The Exceptional Literature Collection of Theodore B. Baum, sold across two live and online sales, totalled $9,657,875, surpassing the pre-sale high estimate.
There is water everywhere in William Roe’s 1837/38 views of Cork which come up as lot 17 at Mullens Collectors Cabinet online sale on September 11. Much of the city as we know it today is built on reclaimed land. The lot consists of seven framed sheets each with between two and four views of Cork city and environs. It is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. Works by Roe were displayed at the Cork Exhibition of 1852. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER
