Something about house contents auctions brings on the urge to rummage. Drawn from no less than four house clearances the catalogue for Matthews auctions in Kells, Co. Meath on May 22 and 23 offers plenty of scope for rummaging among everything from an antique dinner gong to gilded mirrors, garden fountains, silver mounted mirrors and brushes, an Edwardian cake stand, boxes of books, porcelain and antique furniture. The past year has demonstrated that much of what we do in real time can be done virtually and an online rummage through a catalogue with 1,000 lots might prove fruitful. Matthews will follow this sale with an auction of gold, silver, jewellery and collectibles on the evening of May 25.
A rare Irish £100 note from 1928 comes up at Dix Noonan Webb in London on May 27. Among a strong selection of Irish notes in the auction of British, Irish and World banknotes is this £100 note from the Irish Free State, dated 10 September 1928 and estimated at £12,000-16,000. A £50 note from the same date carries an estimate of £8,000-10,000. (Update – the £100 note sold for £14,880, the £50 note went for £9,920).
Andrew Pattison, Head of Department at Dix Noonan Webb, said: “These two notes are some of the first issued by the independent Ireland in 1928, and are also the first to feature the iconic image of Lady Lavery leaning on harp. There are now thought to be less than ten of each of these denominations still in existence from this early date.”
UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £14,880 TO A COLLECTOR IN IRELAND
A White Star Line illustrated promotional booklet from 1911 showing Olympic and Titanic was the sleeper lot at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector sale in Dublin. The 72 page booklet made €5,800 over a top estimate of €300. The auction grossed €600,000 with over 90% of lots sold. More than 1,000 bidders registered online.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 8, 2021)
This 18th century engraved Irish Map containing Plans of Drogheda, Derry, Kinsale Harbour, Charlemont Fort, City of Dublin, Coleraine, The Harbour of Cork, Galway, The City of Kilkenny, Carrickfergus, The City of Cork, Athlone, Waterford, Belfast, The Royal Fort of Duncannon and Limerick comes up as Lot 321 at Fonsie Mealy’s sale of contents from Killoughter House, Ashford, Co. Wicklow online on May 18. It is estimated at €200-€300. UPDATE: THIS MADE 360 AT HAMMER
From Italian and Danish furniture in the 1950’s, ’60’s and ’70’s at de Veres to a crocquet set and an 18th century engraved Irish map with plans of Drogheda, Derry, Kinsale Harbour, Cork Harbour, Kilkenny, Cork, Waterford and Limerick at Fonsie Mealy’s there is plenty to choose from at online sales next week. The Design of our Times timed online sale at de Veres until May 18 offers classic 20th century design, period Irish Georgian and Victorian furniture and contemporary and traditional art. Among the artists featured are Donald Teskey, Bridget Riley, Mark Francis, Kenneth Webb, Erskine Nichol and Edwin Hayes. Renowned designers from Eileen Gray, le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe to Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl, Eero Saarinen, Ron Arad and Verner Panton all feature in a sale of nearly 400 lots.
The Egg chair designed by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER
Fine furniture, antiques, ceramics, paintings, outdoor and garden effects and wines will feature at Fonsie Mealy’s online sale of contents from Killoughter House, Ashford, Co. Wicklow on May 18. Among more than 600 lots are a pair of miniature pencil portraits of Philip Somerville of The Prairie, Schull, Co. Cork and his wife Henrietta Townsend, an 18th century engraved Irish map, a pair of minature portraits of Brisbane Warren of Union Hall and his wife Mary, daughter of Philip Somerville. Furniture includes a large 19th century French gilt console table once in the collection of Sir Alfred Chester Beatty.
A rare and original Advertising Mirror, “The Shamrock Whiskey” by Kirker, Greer & Co. Ltd., Belfast,” c. 1910 at Fonsie Mealy. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
An original 1802 drawing of the Irish playwright and satirist Richard Brinsley Sheridan comes up at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector sale online on May 15 and 16. It is among the historical artefacts, manuscripts, books, maps, militaria, coins, banknotes, sporting and entertainment memorabilia, curios, tribal objects and rare whiskies on offer. Lot 35 is a theatrical candidate cartoon by Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) with an original drawing featuring Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The long term owner of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane he is known for plays like School for Scandal, The Rival, the Duenna and A Trip to Scarborough. The cartoon is estimated at €800-€1,200.
Original ink and water colour drawing with the playwright seated at the desk. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR €750
A rare copper token – an unofficial Irish farthing – engraved James Mabbs, Albion Bakery, 27 Patrick Street, Cork sold to an Irish collector for a world record price of £2,976 at Dix Noonan Webb in London this month. Lot 835 in the sale of Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals had been estimated at £300-400. The copper token dates to 1840-1870. It was from the Irish token collection of the late Barry Woodside, who was born in Belfast. His collection, which comprised 40 lots, sold for a total of £20,795. It included three tokens from Belfast which made £4,464.
Also in the sale was the the second part of the collection of 17th century tokens formed by the late Robert Thompson. This saw the highest price paid for a lot comprising two civic tokens from Limerick including a very fine example of a City Farthing dating from 1658 . It went to a US buyer for £1,612 against an estimate of £90-120.
Imagine a material that is strong and non-toxic, highly versatile, that improves with age and is easy to recycle and that grows from the ground. Wood is all of these things so it is no surprise to find that a piece of antique furniture has a carbon footprint that is 16 times lower than something newly manufactured. A chair or a table built in 1760 or 1830 or 1900 has already provided long years of service. It might be in need of restoration but it can be made beautiful again and carry on for many years to come. If your aim is to reduce, re-use, re-cycle or re-purpose the auction room is filled with objects that can readily achieve all these essential goals. Without the dreadful necessity of trawling through hard to read labels in an attempt to find out what is eligible for the recycle bin.
Regency mahogany teapoy at Woodwards. UPDATE: THIS MADE 460 AT HAMMER
There is a very wide selection of restored and unrestored pieces on offer online in Ireland right now. The auction calendar for the coming week is particularly busy. Hegarty’s in Bandon is on today; in Galway Dolan’s timed sale of art and antiques runs until Monday; on Tuesday James Adam will conduct a Mid Century Modern sale in Dublin and Gormley’s will offer Irish art online from Belfast; next Saturday there is a sale by Woodwards in Cork next and Sean Eacrett will conduct an appetising house contents auction in Ballybrittas, Co. Laois. Over next weekend there will be two day online sales of contents from a Killarney residence at O’Donovan’s, Newcastlewest and of contents from Dublin nightclubs by Victor Mee. So you can choose to buy anything from the Brunswick bar that used to adorn Dublin’s Cafe-en-Seine on Dawson St. and an historic Augsburg silver chalice to a Georgian inlaid serving table at Hegartys to a pair of Georgian brass bound plate buckets at Sean Eacrett.
The Earl of Cork from an album of railway photographs at Dolans. UPDATE: The album was unsold
Or how about the Earl of Cork? That is the steam locomotive built in 1903. An image of this engine is one of a collection of about 70 railway photographs in an album coming up at Dolan’s timed online sale. This sale of 360 lots includes everything from a bronze bull sculpture by John Behan to paintings by John Shinnors, Sean Keating, Arthur Maderson, Kenneth Webb, Jack Donovan and Susan Cronin. At Adams the focus is on 20th century design and contemporary art. That means artists like Mark Francis, Stephen McKenna, William McKeown, Mark Garry and Dorothy Cross, Italian and Danish design furniture and some highly collectible accessories such as a 1950 triennale floor lamp by Angelo Lelli. On offer at Woodwards is a set of Cork 11 bar chairs, a Regency teapoy, a Georgian walnut cellarette, a cylinder front desk, a Louis XV style bonheur du jour, a Georgian secretaire and a Georgian walnut bureau. All have provided years of service and will continue to do so in the future.
Triennale floor lamp by Angelo Lelli at James Adam. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
A letter from Kevin Barry to Kathleen Carney just hours before he was executed is the most expensively estimated lot at Whyte’s annual Eclectic Collector sale next weekend. There are historical artefacts, manuscripts, books, maps, militaria, coins, banknotes, tribal objects and rare whiskies on offer. The auction kicks off with a Bronze Age sword found in Co. Fermanagh 70 years ago and estimated at €4,500-€5,500. At around 3000 years old it is the oldest object on offer. A copy of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 signed by many of the negotiators (€5,000-€7,000) is in sharp contrast in terms of age. The letter Kevin Barry wrote to his friend Kathleen Carney, who would have been about 20 at the time, is estimated at €60.000-€80,000. In the hours leading up to his hanging the 18 year old medical student mentions visits from two Sisters of Charity, the chaplain Fr. Albert, two Bon Secours Sisters and finishes … “say a little prayer for me when I cash in, your pal, Kevin”. Because Kevin Barry died at such a young age his signature is much prized by collectors. The sale includes four of his schoolbooks, including his French book signed K. Barry, Loyalist.A collection of memorabilia relating to Count John McCormack and his family, including his portable altar and Papal Count uniforms, will arouse much interest. This is a timed online sale with the first session starting at noon on May and the second getting underway at noon on May 16. The online catalogue lists 655 lots.
Aria 2 by Mark Francis is lot 5 at the James Adam Mid Century Modern sale online on May 11. The oil on acrylic on canvas laid on board is estimated at €6,000-8,000. The sale of 164 lots offers a collection of furniture, art, paintings and collectibles. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,000 AT HAMMER
