 |
 |
There will be a three day online house clearance auction with 2,100 lots by Matthews of Kells on April 10, 11 and 12. On offer are contents from Ardlaois, Blackrock, Co. Louth, home of the late Professor Kieran Taaffe who was head of International Affairs at Dublin Institute of Technology. There is Irish and international art, old silver, antique furniture, rugs, gilded mirrors, books, oriental items and collectibles. The catalogue is online.
The Battle of the Nile is one of a number of works by the British artist S. Francis Smitheman (1927-2016) at an online Malahide house sale by Sean Eacrett on April 7. It is one of four paintings the artist made for the vendor, who first came across his work at a shop near where she then lived at St. Katherine Dock in London. The shop owner mentioned that the artist would be dropping in and they became firm friends. This is the first of the four paintings that Smitheman painted for the seller and it comes with hand written sketches explaining his approach to an artwork to celebrate Nelson’s centenary. It is estimated at 6,000-8,000. The sale features maritime art, classic furniture, Art Deco and Collectibles.
Fine and decorative art from the collection of entrepreneur, collector and philanthropist Sydell Miller will come up at Christie’s two marquee weeks in New York. A selection of 20 works of art will highlight the 20th and 21st Century Week from May 11-14, and a dedicated auction on June 10 entitled will feature masterworks of 18th Century French furniture and Design. Her Palm Beach ocean front house called La Rêverie was a true achievement in collecting – a vision of art and design that was the result of Mrs. Miller’s avant-garde eye and connoisseurship, complemented by the renowned talent of interior designer Peter Marino. The collection in total is estimated to exceed $30 million. Sydell Miller and her late husband Arnold Miller co-founded Matrix Essential, which became the largest manufacturer of professional hair and beauty products in America. Mrs. Miller devotes much of her time and energy to philantrophy, chiefly the Cleveland Clinic. The Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute houses the heart hospital on the main campus in Ohio.
This c1730 George II Galway octagonal waiter or small salver sold for a hammer price of £16,000 at Gorringes of Lewes, East Sussex on March 30. It was made by Mark Fallon, whose work is exceptionally rare, and it will be a worthy addition to any collection. There are marks consistent with wear but the hallmarks are clear. It had been estimated at £6,000-£9,000. The hammer price will incur fees of 23% plus VAT. If it is to be brought back to Ireland there will, in addition, be importation fees of 13.5%.
A tiara passed down for 150 years through the Royal Family of Italy will highlight Sotheby’s sale of Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels in Geneva on May 11. The natural pearls and diamonds tiara from the House of Savoy is estimated at $1-$1.5 million. A new instagram filter available from today on the @Sothebys handle and @SothebysJewels enables followers to virtually try on the tiara and take a photograph of themselves wearing it against a 360 degree background of an Italian palace in Turin. Sotheby’s report an increasing interest in and demand for tiaras. No less than 96% of tiaras offered by them last year found a buyer, with 83% breaking the top estimate. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR CHF 1,472,000
THE global series of 20th century auctions at Christie’s in March brought in a combined total of £361,428,211. The auction house reports that the season saw registered bidders from 69 countries. The depth of bidding across platforms, time zones and geographies demonstrates global market is active and expansive according to the auction house. New registrants accounted for 24% of registered bidders in March. Tens of millions of viewers tuned in to watch and participate in the March sale series, through Facebook, You Tube, We Chat, Weibo, Artron, ArtPro, Yitao, Christies.com and Christie’s Live™
The underbidder on Banksy’s Game Changer placed a final bid of £14,300,000, the highest bid to date on Christie’s LIVE™. No less than 30 artists records were set.
A spectacular parure of sapphires and diamonds from the collection Stephanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden (1789-1860) come up at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva on May 12. The nine pieces, including a tiara, one collier, one pair of earrings, two pendants and brooches as well as one ring and one bracelet will be offered as individual lots. A total of 38 sapphires originating from Ceylon were used to create this parure in the early 1800s. Stephanie was the adoptive daughter of Emperor Napoléon I (1769-1821), the 200th anniversary of whose death occurs in May.
Napoleon I married Josephine de Beauharnais in 1796. She was Stephanie’s aunt. Stephanie was born in 1789, unfortunately and after the death of her mother two years later she spent her early years with the nuns in the French country side. Soon after her aunt’s marriage to Napoléon I she joined them and grew up in Versailles and Paris. A month before her own wedding, she was adopted by Napoléon and became Her Imperial Highness Princess Stephanie Napoléon and was therewith able to marry into the Baden family.
The collection also includes the important sapphire crown of Maria II Queen of Portugal, set with a remarkable Burmese sapphire in the centre.
The 150 lot Irish art auction at de Veres next Tuesday on March 30 offers opportunities for collectors in the €1,000-€10,000 bracket with major Irish art names. There is work by William Crozier, Letitia Hamilton, Gerard Dillon, Peter Collis, Liam Belton, Tony O’Malley, Evie Hone, Patrick Scott, Hughie O’Donoghue, Barrie Cooke, Ciaran Lennon, Neil Shawcross and many other artists. The catalogue is online.
This George III ormolu mounted white marble and biscuit porcelain clock by royal clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy was made around 1791. One of the richest and most sophisticated examples of Vulliamy’s known work is described by Christie’s as a tour de force of English Neo-Classical design. From the collection of Mrs. Henry Ford II, who died aged 80 last year, it comes up at Christie’s in New York on March 30. The porcelain figures are by John Deare, the pedestal by Thomas Brownley and it is estimated at $250,000-$400,000. The collection of Kathleen Ford is to be offered at two sales in New York and London. Contents from the Palm Beach home come up in New York while contents from her mansion flat at Eaton Square, London and residence at Turville Grange in Oxfordshire come to auction on April 15. She married Henry Ford II (1917-1987) in 1980 and was his third wife while he was her second husband.
UPDATE: The New York sale totalled $4.7 million. The top lot was a pair of c1770 lacquer cabinets attributed to Joseph Baumhauer which made $846,000 over a top estimate of $600,000. The clock was unsold.
Antique jewellery, furniture and silver are among a total of 370 lots at an online auction at Hegarty’s in Bandon, Co. Cork on March 28. Among them is this c1790 Georgian demi lune side table of large proportions. Lot 2 is estimated at 500-1,000. The catalogue is online. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,450
