Marble altar sculpted by J.F. Davis. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER
This marble altar, sculpted by John Francis Davis in Cork around 1910, comes up at O’Donovans online only sale of the contents of the Redemptorist Esker Monastery near Athenry in Newcastle West on August 24. A total of 315 lots, including church pews, altars, statues, paintings and household effects will come under the hammer. All are to be sold without reserve. There are two altars and a set of altar rails with Celtic Cross motifs by J F Davis in the auction. No estimate has been issued and there is a stipulation that the altars must be removed without causing damage to the building. John Francis Davis was a stone and marble mason born around 1860 in Kilkenny. He had a workshop near College Road in Cork city until 1914 and many of his commissions were ecclesiastical. He left Cork for Belfast in 1914 and started a new business under the name of JFD Malcolm. UPDATE: The second altar made 1,900 and the set of altar rails made 720 (hammer prices).
William Sadler II, c.1782-1839 – POOLBEG LIGHTHOUSE. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
This oil on panel by William Sadler comes up at de Veres timed house contents auction at 25 Wellington Road, Dublin which runs until August 27 with an estimate of €4,000-€6,000. Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin Bay was a favourite subject of the artist. Sadler records the original 1767 appearance of the lighthouse before it was rebuilt to the present design in 1820. Initially lit by candles it became one of the first lighthouses to be illumination by oil light. The auction includes 200 lots of both antique and designer modern furniture to be sold often without reserve and a collection of paintings. The catalogue is online and there will be viewing at Wellington Road from September 23.
George Lothian Hall (1825-1888) – Kenmare at James Adam. UPDATE: THIS MADE 260 AT HAMMER
AN early watercolour of Kenmare, a Waterford Crystal 12 branch chandelier, a diamond riviere necklace, an extremely rare antique Hardy brass face Perfect specimen reel, a white marble inlaid chimney piece and a carved limestone head are among the varied and highly collectible offerings at upcoming sales in Ireland.
Easy and convenient to view these lots are from sales to be held online respectively by Adams in Dublin, Keighery’s of Waterford, Purcell Auctioneers in Birr, Matthews of Kells, Mullens of Laurel Park in Bray and O’Donovans of Newcastle West between now and August 28.
To take the last one first there is bound to be interest from Kerry in an 1886 watercolour of Kenmare by the Liverpool born George Lothian Hall whose paintings can be found in the Yale Centre for British Art. With Kenmare faintly visible in the background it depicts a sailing boat, some other leisure vessels, cattle, cottages and a horse and trap. The estimate at the James Adam At Home sale of 394 lots on August 28 is €2,000-€3,000.
The Waterford chandelier at Keighery’s auction on August 19 is estimated at €4,000-€6,000. This sale of over 650 lots will include items from the Furlong estate of historian and journalist Nicholas and antique dealer Mairead of Wexford. There are antique books of Wexford and Irish history, some attractive furniture, various books on antiques, Imari chargers and collectibles including a sailing ship in a case among a large selection of lots.
A white marble inlaid chimney piece at Mullen’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER
The timed online Classic and Contemporary Interiors sale at Mullen’s of Laurel Park at 6 pm on August 18 offers an inverted breakfront white marble inlaid chimney piece (€2,500-€3,500) as one of its leading pieces. There is furniture, art and lighting on offer in this sale of over 770 lots.
A rare antique Hardy reel at Purcell’s UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER
With an estimate of €2,000-€4,000 an extremely rare Hardy specimen reel leads the sale by Purcell Auctioneers of Birr on August 21. It bears the stamp “B”, believed to be the mark of either Alfred or Frederick Broadley, two highly respected figures in the world of salmon perfect reel making whose contribution to the Hardy legacy is well documented. The leather case is marked P D Mallock, Perth, a firm renowned for producing high quality angling accessories. Purcells say the reel is in very good condition and the brass face remains structurally sound.
If you are seriously interested in the diamond 91 stone riviere necklace at Matthews in Kells on August 21 you must go and see it. There will be viewing from noon to 5 pm on August 18, 19 and 20. It is 42 cm long and the total weight is 22 carats. The estimate is €12,500-€17,500. Even if it is beyond your range the auction offers 524 other lots of jewellery, silver and collectibles including unredeemed pawnbroker pledges and executor instructions.
A carved limestone head (€300-€400) is included in the online only sale at O’Donovans in Newcastle West on August 24. The auction comprises 303 lots from the Redemptorist fathers at Esker Monastery, Athenry, Co. Galway. Among them are sets of Stations of the Cross, statues, altars and no less than five sets of five pitch pine church pews with carved ends (€100-€150 a set). All will be offered without reserve.
A 91 stone diamond riviere necklace at Matthews. UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,200 AT HAMMER
Sean Keating – Study for An Allegory. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The pointlessness of civil war, specifically the Irish civil war, is the inspiration for this watercolour and charcoal study by Sean Keating. Based on his famous An Allegory at the National Gallery and unseen in public for many years it comes up at Dolan’s timed online auction which runs until August 26 with an estimate of €60,000-€80,000. Central to the painting is a mother and her baby, wrapped in white for purity and innocence. The figure is Sean Keating’s wife May in the guise of Mother Ireland. Keating portrays himself at her side, weary of the destruction of the Civil War which followed the War of Independence.
The catalogue for the sale, which features Irish art including a watercolour titled A Limerick Farm (1929) by Harry Kernoff and Salthill Diving Boards by Susan Cronin, rare Irish Midleton and Jameson whiskey along with wine, stamps, books and collectibles including a wooden rocking horse, is online.
Harry Kernoff – A Limerick Farm (1929). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The 1939 letter from Einstein to President Franklin D Roosevelt that ushered in the age of the atomic bomb comes up at Christie’s in New York on September 10 with an estimate of $4 million – $6 million. It will lead the Pushing Boundaries: Ingenuity from the Paul G Allen collection sale. The Einstein letter resulted in the Manhattan Project and the story of atomic power told in the 2023 blockbuster film Oppenheimer might never have happened had it not been written. Two versions were drafted, the shorter version on offer here and a more detailed one delivered to the White House by hand – now in the permanent collection of the Franklin D Roosevelt Library in New York. The sale tells the story of science and technology from pre-history to the present day through nearly 40 inspirational documents and objects. The majority of lots date from the 20th century, reflecting Mr. Allen’s most personal passions and serving as a testament to the rapid pace of technological innovation in living memory.
This Torc, believed to be part of the Rathcormack hoard of 1882-83, made £45,200 including buyers premium at an antiquities sale at Lyon and Turnbull. From a private collection in Edinburgh it was acquired by the family in the 1920’s and thence by descent. The piece originally belonged to Robert Carfrae (1820-1900).
The present style of torc or armlet is exceptionally rare, and is known only from a single hoard discovered near Rathcormack, Co. Cork in 1882 – 1883. The hoard was first described in the ‘Proceedings’ section of the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (Anon. 1883-4, 52) where it was noted that Ralph Westropp of Cork exhibited a silver torc with the accompanying note: “It seems that this was found near Rathcormack, county of Cork, with five others of similar make, about the close of last year or early in the present one, by a peasant, beneath a stone in a field, when ploughing.”
The are three recorded examples of the hoard, currently at the National Museum of Scotland and the Metropolitan Museum, New York. All are known to have originated from the Rathcormack Hoard and it is likely that this piece shares the same provenance, though this is unproven.
This Empire style pier table made €160 at Adams in June.
Beautiful, green, sustainable and unwanted …. good antique furniture continues to offer spectacular value to consumers. Armed with just €100 euro you can pick something up at many sales. The choice widens considerably with €300, €500 or €1,000. Disinclined to believe me? There are lots of examples from auctions in the first half of the year in Ireland as follows:
An Empire style circular pier table with brass sphinx head capitals sold for a hammer price of just €160 at the last At Home sale at James Adam in Dublin in June. At the same auction a 19th century circular convex mirror surmounted by an eagle with outstretched wings made €320, a Victorian walnut and parquetry games table made €130 and a Victorian mahogany hall chair made €170.
This George III bureau made €150 at Sheppards in May.
At Sheppards Great Irish Interiors sale in May a 19th century pine pedestal plant stand made €50 at hammer, an Irish 19th century drop leaf kitchen table made €90, a George III mahogany wash stand made €160 and a George III writing bureau sold for €150.
At Woodwards in Cork in April an Edwardian occasional table on tripod base made €40, a Victorian Sutherland table made €90, a Victorian chest on stand made €120 and a Victorian lowboy with herringbone crossbanding made €140. At Marshs in June a two tier centre table made €40, a French escritoire made €120 and a Victorian lady’s work table made €160.
This Victorian lowboy made €140 at Woodwards in April.
An Edwardian oak hall stand made €90 at Lynes and Lynes in April, a Victorian dressing table made €100, an antique side table made €160, a Victorian circular dining table made €50 and a Victorian dumb waiter made €140.
An Edwardian four tier waterfall what not sold for €40 at Fonsie Mealy in February, while at an auction in Castlecomer in May a Georgian glazed bookcase made €210, a Pembroke table made €170 and a Victorian walnut lady’s work table made €180.
The late Cork auctioneer Joe Woodward once remarked that: “There is a bargain at every auction”. That was then and this is now. When it comes to good serviceable antique furniture that has already given years of service and is ready for much more many bargains can be found at every sale nowadays. The prices quoted here are hammer prices and do not include auctioneers fees, but fees on €100 euro do not amount to much. Some auctioneers will even refuse to accept some furniture for sale. Who can blame them? When pieces do not attract any bids and are unsold they must be returned and carriage costs money.
This Victorian dining table made €50 euro at Lynes and Lynes in April.
Not everything is unwanted. Some furniture is sought after and some particularly good pieces make lots of money. Just last October a pair of c1760 George II carved giltwood armchairs, one with a Strahan label, made $152,400 (€139,949) at Sotheby’s in New York. It helps when something is exceptional, with impeccable provenance and preferably a celebrity owner or two.
A CORK REGENCY TRIPLE PANEL OVER MANTLE MIRROR. UPDATE: THIS MADE 220 AT HAMMER
Garden furniture, art, silver, antique furniture and collectibles will feature in an online sale by Hegarty’s in Bandon on August 14. A Regency triple over mantle mirror with an R & W Clarke of Cork label is estimated at €300-€600 and there is an estimate of €900-€1,200 for an oil by John Morris entitled Brittas Bay. The auction gets underway at 5 pm.
No one captured the excitement and innovation of the Paris of the Belle Epoque quite like the great chronicler of Montmartre nightlife Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. A key work by the artist – Jane Avril au Divan Japonais – will highlight the culmination of a series of auctions to coincide with Art Basel, Paris at Christie’s on October 18. The Avant Garde including Thinking Italian sale will include a preparatory study for the most famous and best selling lithograph in the world featuring the cancan dancer Jane Avril commissioned by Edouard Fournier for his cabaret of the same name. In the same private collection for 90 years and not seen in public since the artist’s retrospective in 1931 it is estimated at €2.5 million – €3.5 million.
Even as the global focus that has been on Paris in latter weeks is likely to shift elsewhere after the Olympics draw to a close the art world focus on the French capital is pretty permanent.
Another highlight of Christie’s sale is a rediscovery of a Surrealist work by Francis Picabia, a perfect example of his transparency series entitled Myrte (€1 million – €1.5 million). The innovative series is famous for the theatrical superimposition of images which Picabia had already experimented with in his films. Picabia seeks to stimulate the imagination with a surreal interweaving of images inspired by a real life revelation in a cafe in Marseilles and Myrte immerses the viewer into a sensual, hallucinatory dream.
AN ARTS AND CRAFTS OAK DRESSER. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER
The timeless aesthetic and commitment of the Arts and Crafts movement is evident in this oak dresser which comes up as lot 277 at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on August 28 with an estimate of 1,000-1,500. This is a timed online sale with 401 lots and it will be on view at St. Stephen’s Green from Saturday, August 24. There is art, silver, collectibles, antique furniture, Oriental rugs, porcelain and even a collection of Scottish Freemasons regalia belonging to life member William Kirkhope. The catalogue is online.
