A Bluthner boudoir grand piano is among the lots at a house sale by Sheppards in Cork on October 15. Nearly 700 lots from Carraganes House, Monkstown, Cork will come under the hammer. This was the home of the late businessman Michael Murphy who established the seed and agrichemical business Goldcrop through a management buyout of Sutton’s agricultural division in 1984. The catalogue for the sale, with a large selection of garden statuary and furniture, musical instruments, antique and contemporary furniture and collectible items, is online.
A Bluthner boudoir grand piano UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Sotheby’s has just concluded the autumn sales series in Hong Kong with 3,423 lots sold. The 20 auctions conducted over five days achieved a grand total of HK$3.35 billion / US$426 million. This was the sixth consecutive Hong Kong series to exceed US$400 million
Tad Smith, Sotheby’s CEO, commented: “Our successful sales series in Hong Kong followed the closing of our acquisition by Patrick Drahi, which returned Sotheby’s to private ownership last week after 31 years of public trading. The confidence of our consignors this season and the demand demonstrated by buyers throughout our week of sales is a strong market signal as we look forward to our marquee November sales in New York and beyond.”
Sanyu’s Nu sold for a record HK$198 million (US$25.2 million), setting a new benchmark for the artist.
ONE of the more unusual lots at the magnificent Country House Collections sale by James Adam is a painting of a famous horse complete with its skull. Valentine and Splendour are two historically important racehorses and each one is depicted in a pair of sporting paintings attributed to William Brocas. Valentine is best known for his performance at the 1840 Grand National in which he came third. A fence at Aintree is named after Valentine to this day. The horses’ skull is included in the lot which has come down through the Power family of Gurteen and Curraghchase.
More than 720 lots will come under the hammer at the James Adam sale at Townley Hall, Drogheda, Co. Louth on October 15.
VALENTINE from one of a pair of equestrian portraits estimated at 15,000-20,000 UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Bonhams will offer this large and impressive Waterford 18 light waterfall and bag chandelier at their home and interiors sale in Knightsbridge, London on October 8. The faceted scrolling branches are arranged in two tiers of 12 large and six smaller arms supporting scalloped drip pans. It is described as bespoke, of recent manufacture and the property of a gentleman purchased for his Irish country residence. This one has a 200 cm drop and a diameter of 110 cms. Similar smaller chandeliers were supplied by Waterford for the K Club at Straffan, Co. Kildare. This one is estimated at £20,000-30,000. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Hurricane Lorenzo – now bearing down on the island of Ireland as a tropical storm – is a timely reminder of an auction in aid of the RNLI – the largest charity that saves lives at sea – in the seafaring town of Kinsale in Co. Cork on October 6. Auctioneer Aidan Foley will offer a selection of donated lots including artwork, jewellery, antique furniture, garden items and collectibles at The White Lady in aid of this worthy charity.
THE Hunt at Woolwich Drag by Gilbert Halliday (1879-1937) made a hammer price of 7,500 at Fonsie Mealy’s sale at Glengarriff, Thurles, Co. Tipperary on October 1. Other hammer prices included a pair of watercolour portraits by the same artist of Brigadier and Mrs. E.T. Boylan of Hilltown on horseback (6,000); Evening on a Highland River by Alfred de Breanski junior (6,600); A Rocky Landscape attributed to Jean Baptiste Pillement (1728-1808) (5,600); Market Scene by Pieter van Bredael (4,500) and a Busy Street Scene by David Teniers (4,200). A pair of Famille Verte Warnier vases made 2,600, an Arts and Crafts chaise longue made 3,200, an Irish fold over tea table from Ely House made 2,800 and a specimen table made 2,500. An Irish 18th century giltwood mirror made 4,600 and a cased pair of 12 bore double barrelled shotguns by William Powell made 3,400.
The auction realised 250,000 on the hammer with 80% sold.
A pair of engravings of Cork by Henry Morgan will come up at the Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill on October 5. They are from a series of 28 lithographs published by Henry Morgan around 1849. Cork City Library holds a copy of the series reprinted by Feehan and Sons in 1999 and a number of older reprints in varying condition. The engravings are estimated at 100-200.The auction comprises around 400 lots. Collectibles include a pair of antique cast iron signal cannons (800-1,200), Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf and a collection of seven Ian Fleming first editions.
Henry Morgan’s mid 19th century engraving of Belvelly Bridge and Castle
A carved French bed at Fonsie Mealy’s sale in Thurles on October 1 is reputed to have belonged to the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. The 4’6″ 18th century bed has been at Glengarriff, Thurles – home of the Carrigan family for over 100 years – since 1962. It was purchased that year at the contents sale of the Duke de Stacpoole, Tobertynan, Longwood, Co. Meath where it was reputed by strong family tradition to have been originally owned by Josephine. Longwood House on the island of St. Helena where Napoleon was exiled was his final residence and he died there. The bed is estimated at 2,000-3,000.More than 500 lots including heirlooms from the Carrigan family and items from other private clients will go under the hammer. There is furniture, paintings, prints, silver, Chinese porcelain, sporting guns, garden furniture, books and maps. A set of 19th century Irish miniatures of the Shipsey family of Cape Clear is estimated at 700-800. An early watercolour by Peter Curling, Caught in the Ditch, depicts a jockey and a distressed horse and was painted in 1974 when the noted equestrian artist was just 19. It is estimated at 1,000-1,500. Among other equestrian artworks is an oil by Gilbert Halliday “The Hunt, at Woolwich drag” (10,000-15,000). There are some Old Master paintings and prints including a portrait of Jan de Middelste (1561-1623) by a follower of Anthonisz van Ravesteyn (2,000-3,000).The highlight of over 70 lots of silver is an 18th century Irish provincial sauceboat with the makers mark PW, possibly Peter Webb of Limerick (2,000-3,000). There is a collection of sporting guns, a first edition of the History of Clonmel by Rev William P Burke (1907) and a hand coloured copy of the 1843 Ordnance Survey of Tipperary North Riding. The catalogue is online.
Bed reputedly owned by Empress Josephine UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 2,200 AT HAMMERA group of five miniature portraits of the Shipsey family of Cape Clear UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER
Fonsie Mealy’s sale of contents of Glengarriff, Thurles, Co. Tipperary on October 1 will offer more than 500 lots of furniture, paintings, prints, silver, Chinese porcelain, sporting guns, garden furniture, books and maps. The auction will include heirlooms from the Carrigan family and items from other private clients. Viewing is on the premises on September 29 and 30, the sale will be held at the Anner Hotel in Thurles at 11 am.
An Arts and Crafts Library Table with the label Battam, Heywood and Hanks, Oxford St. and Berners St., London (2,000-3,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,700 AT HAMMER
A William Morris Donegal carpet with an all over bold pattern made a hammer price of 5,200 on day two of Sheppards sale in Durrow today. A Donegal carpet designed by CFA Voysey made 5,400 at hammer. A pair of 19th century cloisonne lamps made 4,800. The Jews Harp, an oil on canvas by Robert Gemmill Hutchison (1860-1936) made 4,600, Horse in a landscape by Wright Barker (1864-1941) made 6,400, Le Triomphe de la Republique by Henri F Bellan (1899) made 9,500, a set of 12 Edwardian Chippendale style dining chairs made 4,400, an 18th century Chinese Chippendale table made 7,500 and a pair of brass bound mahogany peat buckets made 2,400. Jewellery made good prices. An 18 carat white gold tennis bracelet made 9,000 and a white gold solitaire diamond ring made 12,000. A pair of large Qing famille rose bowls made 7,800.
