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    • Archive for the ‘COLLECTIBLES’ Category

    CHRISTIE’S SALES DRAW STRONG INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE

    Friday, July 6th, 2018

    The continuing international appeal of collecting was demonstrated at Christie’s Old Masters evening sale; The Exceptional Sale 2018 and Thomas Chippendale 300 Years  in London on July 5.  With registered bidders from 33 countries across five continents the sales realised a total of £45,205,750, bringing the running total for Classic Week sales so far to £51,667,375.  The auctions followed global tours of highlights to New York, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and pre-sale public exhibitions in London. Classic Week sales at Christie’s continue until July 12.

    The top lot of the Old Masters sale was Ludovico Carracci’s Portrait of Carlo Alberto Rati Opizzoni in armour which made £5 million.  A bronze group of Hercules Overcoming Achelous by Ferdinando Tacca c1640-50 was the top lot of The Exceptional Sale. It made £6.7 million.  A pair of George III giltwood torcheres c1773 was the the top lot at the Thomas Chippendale auction. These sold for £488,750.

    Ludovico Carracci (Bologna 1555-1619)
    Portrait of Carlo Alberto Rati Opizzoni in armour

    George III Giltwood Torcheres

     

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    IMAGES OF WASHINGTON AND BACON AT FONSIE MEALY AUCTION

    Wednesday, July 4th, 2018

    A white marble portrait bust of George Washington and a signed photograph of Francis Bacon are among the wide range of lots at Fonsie Mealy’s auction in Castlecomer on July 10 and 11.  The portrait bust from the studio of Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) is estimated at 3,000-4,000.  A portrait of Washington after Gilbert Stuart is estimated at 1,000-1,500.

    Bacon is photographed looking vexed and animated outside the French pub in Soho by Daniel Farson.  The image is signed by both Bacon and Farson and estimated at 800-1,200.  The catalogue is online and viewing for this 900 lot sale gets underway on July 8.

    White marble portrait bust of George Washington  UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,250

    A signed photograph of Francis Bacon  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,050

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    NELSON’S TRAFALGAR WATCH AT SOTHEBY’S TREASURES SALE

    Tuesday, June 26th, 2018

    Nelson’s pocket watch.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £322,000

    A watch that belonged to Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson and is thought to have been carried during the Battle of Trafalgar will be one of the highlights of Sotheby’s Treasures sale on 4 July. It is estimated at £250,000 – 450,000.  On the morning of the Battle of Trafalgar, William Beatty – the Irish surgeon aboard Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, observed how before the battle commenced, the Admiral called upon his lieutenants to synchronise their watches to the time on his own watch. It is therefore quite possible that the tumultuous events of that historic day unfolded to the time kept by this very watch.

    Fought on October21,  1805 off the southern coast of Spain, the Battle of Trafalgar was a decisive moment in the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1815). Commanded by Admiral Nelson the British fleet defeated the combined fleets of the Spanish and French navies, fighting off Napoleon Bonaparte’s advancements to invade Britain. In the midst of battle, Nelson was shot in the left shoulder, a shot that would prove fatal.

    The Chairman of Sotheby’s International Watch Division, Daryn Schnipper said: ‘The perfect timing of the British assault at the Battle of Trafalgar was key in the historic victory of the Royal Navy so to be able to offer for sale the watch that Nelson probably used to establish the timing for this decisive battle, is a real privilege.”

    One of the nineteen relics returned to Nelson’s mistress, Emma, Lady Hamilton, following his death, the watch was inherited by the Admiral’s brother, Willliam, 1st Earl Nelson and subsequently passed to his sole surviving child, Charlotte. Charlotte arranged for the watch to be mounted in its current form as a carriage clock, presumably so it could be better admired and treasured as her illustrious uncle’s most precious possession. It was excluded from the group of precious relics, including the Admiral’s orders and decorations offered for sale in 1895 and subsequently acquired by the British government.

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    GEORGE III DINING TABLE AT SHEPPARDS

    Saturday, June 23rd, 2018
    A George III dining table at Sheppards sale in Co. Wicklow on June 26, 27 and 28 is of particular interest because of recent events Stateside.  The 20 foot long table is estimated at 30,000-50,000.  The estimate on a similar table at a sale in New York last month was the same.  But the Regency four pedestal dining table from the Rockefeller Collection was knocked down for $468,500 dollars in a global sale where many lots exceeded all expectations. The $832 million realised from that auction was the highest total ever for a single collection and the most significant charitable auction in history.
    Sheppards sale at Coolattin House, Shillelagh, Co. Wicklow is now on view.  It is composed of lots from the collection of the late Kanturk based solicitor Gerard O’Keeffe and other clients. The sale will be held over six sessions next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10.30 am and 2 pm on each day.
    There is a series of 18th century Irish furniture pieces including two side tables with scallop carved aprons.   Among the works of art is a Portrait of lady in a red silk gown by John Michael Wright.  It is from Cloghan Castle, Co. Offaly and was purchased at a Sotheby’s sale of Old Master paintings in 1968.  There is an Irish landscape by William Ashford and work by Hugh Douglas Hamilton.

    The collection of Gerard O’Keeffe forms a major part of the sale and it includes a collection of ivory and a series of watches including a Piaget.  There is a selection of contemporary Irish art and sculpture, Irish and international literature, bookcases and garden lots in a wide ranging auction of nearly 2,000 lots.

    A George III four pillar dining table

    A George III Chippendale bookcase

    A portrait of a lady in a red silk

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    IRISH TABLE FROM COLLECTION OF WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST

    Thursday, June 14th, 2018

    An Irish marble topped side table from the sale of the William Randolph Hearst collection in New York in 1939 is a feature lot at the At Home sale by James Adam in Dublin on June 17.  It is estimated at 8,000-10,000. A George IV silver vine leaf dessert service is estimated at 6,000-10,000 and a set of George III neoclassical candlesticks is estimated at 6,000-8,000.   There are 672 lots.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    AN IRISH MARBLE TOPPED SERPENTINE SIDE TABLE, c.1830 once in the Hearst Collection (8,000-10,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER

    A George IV dessert set, Sheffield, 1829 (6,000-10,000).  UPDATE: THESE MADE 16,500 AT HAMMER

    A JAPANESE THREE PIECE IMARI PORCELAIN GARNITURE, Meiji Period (1868 – 1912) (1,500-2,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER

    A SET OF FOUR GEORGE III NEO-CLASSICAL SILVER CANDLESTICKS, London 1785, mark of John Wakelin & William Taylor (6,000-8,000)  UPDATE: THESE MADE 7,000 AT HAMMER

    A FINE CHINESE KESI SILK WALL HANGING, 19th century (6,000-10,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,000 AT HAMMER

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    16.2 MILLION VASE SETS NEW RECORD FOR CHINESE PORCELAIN SOLD IN FRANCE

    Tuesday, June 12th, 2018

    An Imperial 18th century ‘Yangcai’ Famille-Rose porcelain vase sold for 16.2 million at Sotheby’s in Paris today.  This was a new record for any Chinese porcelain sold in France. This lost treasure of Imperial China was found in an attic and brought in to Sotheby’s in a shoebox after having been discovered by chance in the attic of a French family home.

    The vase is of exceptional rarity: the only known example of its kind, it was produced by the Jingdezhen workshops for the magnificent courts of the Qianlong Emperor (1735-1796). Famille Rose porcelains of the period (or ‘yangcai’ porcelains, as they are known) are extremely rare on the market, with most examples currently housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and other museums around the world.

    These so-called yangcai porcelain commissions were the very epitome of the ware produced by the Jingdezhen imperial kilns. They were made as one-of-a-kind items, sometimes in pairs, but never in large quantities. This technique combined a new colour palette with Western-style compositions. Beyond their superior quality, yangcai enamels were intended to create the most opulent and luxurious effect possible.  Only one other similar vase, although with slightly different subject matter and decorative borders, now in the Guimet museum in Paris, is known.

    Left to the grandparents of the present owners by an uncle, the vase is listed among the contents of the latter’s Paris apartment after his death in 1947. It is recorded alongside several other Chinese and Japanese objects including other Chinese porcelains, two dragon robes, a yellow silk textile, and an unusual bronze mirror contained in a carved lacquer box.   While the exact provenance of the vase and the other Chinese and Japanese pieces before 1947 cannot be traced, the receipt of a Satsuma censer acquired as a wedding gift in the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris by an ancestor of the family suggests an active interest in Asian art at a very early date. Similarly, this vase may well have been acquired in Paris in the late 19th century when the arrival of Asian works of art initiated a fashion for Japanese and Chinese art

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    AN EILEEN GRAY HIGHLIGHT AT CHRISTIE’S NEW YORK DESIGN SALE

    Friday, June 8th, 2018

    Eileen Gray – a transat armchair with original calfskin upholstery, ebonised lacquered work and nickel plated brass.  UPDATE: THIS MADE $1,596,500, setting a world auction record for a ‘Transat’ chair.

    Eileen Gray’s (1879-1976) ‘Transat’ chair from 1927-30 is a highlight of Christie’s design sale in New York on June 20.  It is estimated at $1-1.5 million.  The chair was conceived in the context of the furnishing of the villa E1027, the house at Roquebrune in the South of France, that Gray designed with and for her associate Jean Badovici. The radical modern villa – built on a rocky slope overlooking the sea – inspired Gray to explore new materials and possibilities in its bespoke furniture and fittings. For this iconic piece, Gray references
    the classic deck-chair, a design of pure functionalism, as she plays on the marine theme, calling to mind the contemporary
    engagement with water sports, the outdoors, and the popularity of a new generation of ocean liners.

    The auction is comprised of two private American collections and includes pieces by some of the most iconic names of French design including Pierre Chareau, Jen Dunand, Jean Michel Frank, Francois Xavier Lalanne, Pierre Legrain and Emile Jacques Ruhlmann.

    UPDATE: THE SALE TOTALLED $8.3 MILLION.

    Emile Jacques Ruhlmann – a ‘granet’desk c1930  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $150,000

    Jean Dunand vases offered in separate lots  UPDATE: THESE MADE VARIOUS PRICES FROM $43,850 TO $87,500

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    A VARIED SELECTION OF SUCCESSFUL LOTS FROM MEALY’S SUMMER SALE

    Wednesday, May 30th, 2018

    A varied selection of items among the top lots on the first day at Mealy’s summer sale in Castlecomer on May 29 follows.  The sale continues today.

    THIS LARGE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY BLACK FOREST CHAMOI GROUP MADE 5,000 AT HAMMER

    A TERRACOTTA GROUND IRISH DUN EMER WOOL CARPET MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER

    THIS IRISH GEORGE III STYLE MAHOGANY BRASS BOUND PEAT BUCKET MADE 1,600 AT HAMMER

    THIS WHITE CARVED STATUARY MARBLE MANTELPIECE MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER

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    CORK SILVER AT LYNES AND LYNES

    Thursday, May 17th, 2018
    Cork silver, Georgian and later furniture and a pocket sketchbook with 30 watercolours from architects Henry and Arthur Hill dated 1884-96 all feature at the Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork on May 19. A sauceboat by the Cork maker Carden Terry is estimated at 200-400 and the sale will include silver serving spoons by makers such as Timothy Conway, James Salter and Richard Garde with estimates of 100-200. A Newcastle silver teapot made in 1798 by John Robertson II is estimated at 200-300.

    A 19th century oil after Murillo, The Holy Children with a Shell, is estimated at 600-1,000.  There is a selection of Georgian and later furniture including pieces made by O’Connell’s of Lavitt’s Quay Cork.  Some period furniture is in need of restoration and this is reflected in the estimates.  More than 40 lots of books and a copy of the will of John Evan-Freke, 6th Baron Carbery (1765-1845) are included.  The catalogue is online.

    A pocket sketchbook with 30 late Victorian watercolours from architects Henry and Arthur Hill .  UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,400

    A Cork silver sauceboat by Carden Terry.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 950

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    FOUR DAYS OF ARCHITECTURAL SALVAGE AUCTIONS IN DUBLIN

    Thursday, May 17th, 2018

    A massive four day clearance auction of architectural salvage gets underway in Dublin on May 18. Matthews of Oldcastle, Co. Meath will offer a collection which includes a full Edwardian court room, Georgian cut granite stones, cobbles, lintels, sash windows, antique, pub and related furniture and old pine.  The sale is on May 18, 19, 20 and 21 at 11.30 a.m. each day.  More than 4,000 lots, the contents of an architectural salvage yard at 326-28 South Circular Road,  will come under the hammer.  The catalogue is online.

    An old English court room.

    Some intact architectural salvag

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