Admission Ticket to Croke Park, Great Challenge Match (Football), Tipperary v. Dublin, Bloody Sunday, November 21,1920.
Viewing is now underway in Castlecomer for Fonsie Mealy’s Christmas rare book and collector’s sale on December 12 and 13. This rare Croke Park 1920 admission ticket is highly collectible. The period from 1918 – 1920 was a turbulent and dangerous time in Ireland. It was at this match that British soldiers opened fire on the pitch and crowd, killing a player and twelve spectators. This followed Michael Collins’ operation against British secret service agents earlier that morning, in which fourteen British officers were shot dead. The ticket is estimated at €4,000-€5,000. There are many rare and collectible items on offer in this auction of 1,019 lots which will get underway each day at 10.30 am. The catalogue is online.
Collection of 10 Midleton Very Rare Irish Whiskeys, 2015 to 2023
This collection of Midleton Very Rare Irish Whiskeys from 2015 to 2023 comes up as lot 7 at Dolan’s timed online December sale with an estimate of €7,000-€9,000. The catalogue for this sale, which features 240 lots of 20th century and contemporary Irish artists along with antiques, collectibles, whiskeys rugs and books, is now live and will run until December 11.
Cecil Maguire RUA – SOME SHEEP FOR INISHLACHEN (€3,000-€5,000)
This Austrian gilt and ruby porcelain stein sold for a hammer price of €7,200 over a top estimate of €500-€800 at Sheppards in Durrow this afternoon. It was made around 1880. The reserve is hand painted with ‘The Triumph of Constantine’ and signed ‘Joeger Pinxt’. There is a leaf cast scroll handle with raised thumb piece and a domed cover on an outset gilt metal foot. The stein carries the Bidenschild mark. A large Regency crystal chandelier made €6,500 and another made €5,500, a walnut four poster bed made €6,000, a 19th century bronze garden sculpture of Mercury made €5,000, a Neoclassical white chimney piece made €4,600 and a marble Neptune fountain made €2,800.
Daniel O’Connell’s leather gun case is one of the more unusual lots at Marshs sale in Cork on December 9. The case, stamped with his name and Derrynane Abbey, is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. There is a similar estimate on a rare 19th century watercolour, The Strand at Tivoli, Cork by John E Bosanquet. Antique furniture on offer includes a Georgian four door breakfront bookcase, a four piece ivory inlaid bedroom suite, a set of Cork dining chairs, a Georgian inlaid chest and a French walnut ormolu mounted vitrine. The online only sale will be on view from December 6.
“The Strand at Tivoli Cork” attributed to John E. Bosanquet
A pair of 18th century or earlier marble busts of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
A collection of 17th and 18th century marble busts are among part contents from Drumleck House, Howth – home of notable collectors John and Gertrude Hunt – at the Dublin and Provincial sale by Sheppards in Durrow next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. (December 5, 6 and 7). The Hunts lived at Drumleck for over 30 years from the 1950’s. Most of their collection was donated to the State and is now at the Hunt Museum in Limerick. Weathered outdoor busts of Julius Caesar wearing laurel leaves and Cleopatra with an asp from the garden at Drumleck are among the highlights. They are estimated at €2,000-€3,000.
The garden was decorated with ornaments and statuary from demolished properties of the Anglo-Irish Ascendency including a statue of Neptune from Ballinagarde House in Co. Limerick. This now lost statue was acquired by a member of the Croker family on his Grand Tour. John Hunt liked to claim it came from the workshop of Bernini in Rome. The statue has never been identified and informed collectors are still on the look out for the lost Bernini.
Sir William Orpen – Portrait of Mrs. Wertheimer (nee Trautz). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A Regency library table from the Merrion Square home of Sybil Connolly (€1,500-€2,500) and a collection of Regency furniture from the Ardsallagh Estate in Co. Tipperary are features of the auction.So is a re-discovered portrait of a lady identified as Jessica Wertheimer painted in 1904 by by William Orpen. Charles Wertheimer was Orpen’s leading patron and a portrait of him by Orpen was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1904. Portraits of Wertheimer and his one time companion Sarah Hammond by John Everett Millais are in the Musee d’Orsay. The Orpen at Sheppards, from the Macroom collection of Dr. Kevin Moynihan, is estimated at €30,000-€50,000.
An extremely rare 1st Period Belleek Carnation, one of only two known. UPDATE: THIS MADE 700 AT HAMMER
Among the lots of architectural salvage are the original double entrance doors to Bewley’s Cafe on Grafton St. in Dublin. This iconic cafe, extensively modified in the 1990’s, had originally been built to designs by Millar & Symes in 1927 with an extravagant Egyptian Revival facade. The doors are estimated at €3,000-€5,000. A rare Belleek carnation (€500-€800) is a collectors item too. It is believed to be one of only two in existence. The other is at the National Museum in Dublin. The sale features Meissen parrots, silver pheasants, Irish sculpture and art, 17th and 18th century Dutch art and furniture from the 18th to the 20th century including a large mid-century Italian cabinet by Smania. More than 1,200 lots will come under the hammer. Viewing gets underway today in Durrow.
An Irish George III statuary marble, Siena, Spanish brocatelle and inlaid marble chimney piece, circa 1780, attributed to George and Hill Darley. UPDATE: THIS LOT WAS WITHDRAWN FROM THE AUCTION
Based on new research this magnificent Irish chimney piece at Sotheby’s Albany private collection sale in London on December 6 can be attributed to George and Hill Darley. There is a shallow breakfront mantel and the moulded underside is carved with a bead-and-reel moulding and inlaid dentil detailing. The central tablet is carved with a classical vase with birds-head handles issuing berried-leaf swags tied to the corners with ribbons, flanked by inlaid panels with ribbon-tied bell-flower swage and rosettes with leaf and bead-and-reel carved mouldings.
The work of Darley brothers George and Hill, stonecutters and furniture designers in late-eighteenth century Dublin, can still be seen on the west front of Trinity College. They also had worked on several other notable late-eighteenth century commissions, including the poet William Ashford’s house Sandymount in County Dublin, and the residence of the Italian ambassador at Lucan House. A rare collection of their fine watercolour designs for chimneypieces is held at the Royal Irish Academy. The estimate for this chimneypiece is £120,000-£180,000.
There are seven known surviving deer antler chairs in China. The Palace Museum in the Forbidden City holds five, each uniquely designed. The deer antlers used in crafting these chairs were sourced from deer captured during royal hunting activities in the Qing Dynasty. The creation of thrones from deer antlers serves as a profound homage to Chinese equestrian roots, preserving the essence of Manchu heritage. Emperor Qianlong expressed his reverence for these chairs in a poem, stating, ‘Dare not sit upon it, ever in awe and admiration.’
The armchair pictured here comes up at Adams sale of Fine Asian Art on December 16 with an estimate of €85,000-€95,000. Dr. Wei Wang, newly appointed head of Adams Asian Art Department, explained that while this armchair is a late copy, it remains a rare item in the market. She holds a PhD in semiology from Panthéon-Assas Paris II University, and has demonstrated a passion for Asian Art throughout her academic and professional journey.
The upcoming Asian art sale at Adam’s bears Chinese title meaning ‘Ji Guang’s feathers.’ This metaphorical expression signifies precious relics or cultural artifacts that have endured, likened to the feathers of the mythical beast Ji Guang from ancient Chinese mythology. There are 456 lots across four sections, originating from China, the Himalayas, Vietnam, and Japan organised into several categories, including ceramics, jade and stones, accessories, bronzes, and paintings.
ONE OF A PAIR OF LIFE-SIZED ENTRANCE SCULPTURES. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
This imposing entrance sculpture of a Great Dane on a plinth – one of a pair – is lot 261 at Sheppards Dublin and Provincial sale in Durrow on December 5, 6 and 7. They are modelled on the hunting hound of Lord Kingsale, John de Courcy, who was born in 1717 at Old Head Castle, Kinsale in Co. Cork. The pair is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. The auction of 1,189 lots includes contents from Drumleck House, Howth, Co. Dublin, Ardsallagh House, Co. Tipperary and other important clients. The catalogue is online.
This Ralph Lauren duke bar cabinet customised for a super yacht in the South of France is the top lot at Victor Mee’s winter decorative interiors sale on December 30. The 1930’s inspired piece styled in rosewood with polished stainless steel trim has features that include a removable stainless steel tray on top and a flat silver liner. The second of three drawers has a flip down front with black mirror surface and there are storage shelves on the end doors. The estimate is €4,000-€8,000. There are 632 lots in the auction including an 18 branch Waterford Crystal chandelier, a watercolour of a Connemara cottage by Percy French, a walnut chest of drawers with brass mounts and a burr walnut four door secretaire.
A pair of mirrored wall brackets with ho ho birds. UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER
A c1930 Louis Vuitton double wardrobe steamer trunk is, at €5,000-€7,000, the most expensively estimated lot at the James Adam At Home online only sale which ends from 11 am on November 27. On offer is a selection of 467 lots of silver, antique furniture, mirrors, rugs, desks, lighting, porcelain and art including a selection of botanical artwork by Wendy Walsh (1915-2014). Among a selection of provincial pieces by various makers is a c1830 three piece silver tea service with the mark of Kean Mahony, Cork is estimated at €1,500-€2,000. A Victorian brass club fender has an estimate of €1,200-€1,800, as has a pair of French Vernis Martin display cabinets and a Victorian writing desk by Maple and Co. is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. The estimate on a pair of giltwood and gesso wall brackets with Ho Ho birds is €500-€700 and there is an estimate of just €100-€200 on a 19th century inlaid walnut and marquetry tilt top chess table. The catalogue is online.
