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    A GREAT LATE YEATS AT ADAMS

    Wednesday, November 30th, 2016
    Jack B. Yeats - Glory to the Brave Singer (250,000-350,000)

    Jack B. Yeats – Glory to the Brave Singer (250,000-350,000)  UPDATE: THIS WAS PASSED AT 230,000

    A great late Yeats work will highlight the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art and Irish historical documents in Dublin on December 7.  Glory to the Brave Singer, which depicts a woman reclining in a landscape pointing towards a songbird, was exhibited at the RHA in 1951, at Victor Waddington’s in Dublin in October 1953 and at the Munster Fine Art Club annual exhibition in Cork in 1956. It was shown several times at Victor Waddington’s gallery in London in the late 1950’s and ’60’s but has rarely been seen in public since becoming part of a private collection in 1971. It is estimated at 250,000-350,000. It is one of four Yeats’ oils in what Adams describe as one of their finest sales in some years.

    There is a small section on Irish historical documents which includes the most expensively estimated lot, the final order of surrender written  by Padraig Pearse at Easter 1916 (1-1.5 million) and two original copies of the Irish Proclamation (each estimated at 250,000-350,000).

    The art sale features lots from the Smurfit Kappa Collection, which includes a self portrait by Sir William Orpen (the catalogue cover lot) and Paul Henry’s Connemara Landscape.  There are important works by traditional Northern painters like Frank McKelvey, James Humbert Craig and Maurice Wilks.  The back cover of the catalogue features one of Roderic O’Conor’s biggest and most ambitious paintings of the female nude. Etude du nu dates to 1914 and is estimated at 50,000-70,000. The sale features work by artists like Sir John Lavery, Joseph Malachy Kavanagh, Aloysius O’Kelly and Nathaniel Hill as well as four paintings by Patrick Hennessy who was the subject of an exhibition at IMMA during the summer.

    There is work by Mildred Anne Butler, Evie Hone, Mainie Jellett, Letitia and Eva Hamilton and Norah McGuinness.  Contemporary artists include Tony O’Malley, Louis le Brocquy, Mark Francis, Donald Teskey and John Doherty.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    UPDATE:   The Pearse surrender letter was unsold.  The sale grossed 1.35 million with 76% of lots sold.

    Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916-2012) Human Image (Woman) (1997) (40,000-60,000)

    Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916-2012)
    Human Image (Woman) (1997) (40,000-60,000)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Roderic O'Conor (1860-1940) Etude de Nu (50,000-70,000)

    Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940)
    Etude de Nu (50,000-70,000)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915-1980) The Bronze Horses of Saint Marks (1953) (15,000-20,000)

    Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915-1980)
    The Bronze Horses of Saint Marks (1953) (15,000-20,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 32,000 AT HAMMER

    Norah McGuinness HRHA (1901-1980) Waterweeds on the Nore (4,000-6,000)

    Norah McGuinness HRHA (1901-1980)
    Waterweeds on the Nore (4,000-6,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,500 AT HAMMER

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    IRISHMAN’S ZULU WAR MEDAL AT AUCTION IN LONDON

    Wednesday, November 30th, 2016
    The South Africa medal awarded to Michael Minihan.

    The South Africa medal awarded to Michael Minihan.  UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £70,000 AT HAMMER

    The medal awarded to Cork born Private Michael Minihan – one of the defenders of Rorke’s Drift during the Zulu War in 1879 – comes up at auction by Dix Noonan Webb in London on December 8. He was one of 16 Irishmen known to be among the 150 strong British garrison which fought off an attack by up to 4,000 Zulu warriors.  No less than eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for the defence of the mission station – the former trading post of Irish merchant James Rorke. The 1964 film Zulu starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine was based on this battle.

    Minehan was the right-hand man in the front rank of ‘B’ Company, a soldier who knew his drill and helped maintain the discipline that held the embattled garrison together during the ferocious hand-to-hand fighting at Rorke’s Drift on January 22-23, 1879. He was highly regarded by his officers and received several testimonials of good character  including one from Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, his company commander, who won the VC at Rorke’s Drift. Born in Castlehaven, Co. Cork in 1845 Michael Minihan enlisted in the 24th Foot at Bandon in October 1864.  He saw service in India, South Africa and the Mediterranean.  In 1879 the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Foot was part of the British Army that invaded the then independent kingdom of Zululand. ‘B’ Company was detailed to garrison Rorke’s Drift, which had been turned into a supply depot and hospital. They thus avoided the fate of many regimental comrades who were killed when the Zulus overwhelmed a British force at Isandlwana.

    The victorious Zulus then headed for Rorke’s Drift where the tiny garrison, some of whom were hospital patients, found themselves in a desperate battle for survival. Minehan was posted in the cattle kraal, which formed part of the defensive perimeter and eventually had to be evacuated. Captain William Penn-Symonds, an officer in the 24th who was part of the force which relieved Rorke’s Drift knew the Irish soldier well and later wrote: “Minehan was a great pal of mine; he was right-hand man, front rank of ‘B’ Company, who knew his drill well and had often kept me straight.” The day after the battle Private Minehan, who was so exhausted that he could not speak, took Penn-Symonds to the corner of the kraal where he had been stationed. He indicated the body of a Zulu, partly hidden under the straw. During the siege the Zulu had crawled under the straw and grabbed Minehan by the leg. Minehan had thrust his bayonet into the straw killing his assailant.

    After his service in the Zulu War Michael Minihan was posted back to India.  In 1884 he contracted cholera, was sent back to England and discharged as medically unfit.  He died in May 1891 and is buried in Castletownsend.  The grave marker, a cross of wrought iron, was inscribed Michael Minihan, Late of the 24th Regiment and one of the gallant defenders of Rorke’s Drift. His campaign medal for South Africa 1877-79 with clasp 1877-8-9 is estimated at £26,000-30,000.

    The men of 'B' Company 2/24th Regiment who survived Rorke's Drift.

    The men of ‘B’ Company 2/24th Regiment who survived Rorke’s Drift.

    Michael Minihan is the man on the left in the circle.

    Michael Minihan is the man on the left in the circle.

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    MAHLER’S 2nd SYMPHONY MAKES WORLD AUCTION RECORD

    Tuesday, November 29th, 2016

    mahler-2ndThere was a new auction record for a musical manuscript when the complete manuscript of Gustav Mahler’s Second Symphony (the “Resurrection”) sold for £4,546,250 at Sotheby’s in London today. This monument of musical history, spanning 232 pages and written in the composer’s distinctive hand throughout, ranks as the most significant music manuscript ever to be offered at auction. It remains completely unaltered, untrimmed and unbound – including deletions, alterations and annotations, many in vivid blue crayon. The work retains the form in which Mahler left it, reflecting and revealing the compositional process for the work. mahler-2

    The dramatic manuscript is made all the more noteworthy by its remarkable provenance, coming to auction from the estate of the American economist and businessman, Gilbert Kaplan (1941-2016), who, having become infatuated with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 upon seeing the piece performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1965, dedicated his life to realising his dream of conducting the piece with the world’s greatest orchestras.

    *The only comparable autograph music manuscripts of major symphonic works to have been sold at auction are the celebrated manuscript of nine Mozart symphonies (which achieved £2.5 million at Sotheby’s in London in 1987) and the manuscript of Robert Schumann’s Second Symphony (which sold for £1.5 million at Sotheby’s in London in 1994).

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    RICH PICKINGS AT SHEPPARDS IN DURROW

    Saturday, November 26th, 2016

    Collectors will find rich pickings among a selection of fine antique furniture, art, jewellery, fine wine, Asian art  and European works of art during three days of sales at Sheppards in Durrow on November 29-30 and December 1.  Viewing is now underway and the catalogue is online. There are rugs, handbags, jewellery, fur coats, sculpture, a private collection of modestly estimated English and Irish watercolours and a good choice of antique furniture including mirrors, chairs, cabinets, lighting and lamps,Chinese ceramics and bronzes, silver, porcelain and a small section on wines and spirits.  The auction series with nearly 1,600 lots in total will finish up with a classic art evening auction with just 60 lots next on December 1 at  7 pm.  There is Irish, British and continental works ranging from a lake scene by George Barrett and a portrait by Hugh Douglas Hamilton to a Dutch landscape by Hendrik Pieter Koekkoek (1843-1927), a landscapes by the English artist Claude Francis Barry (1883-1970), a work from the French Impressionist School and  an Italian portrait by a follower of Lorenzo Lotto. The sale will include work by Markey Robinson, Arthur Maderson, Mildred Anne Butler and Augustus Burke.

    CLAUDE FRANCIS BARRY, RBA (ENGLISH, 1883-1970) - A nocturnal lake scene (8,000-12,000)

    CLAUDE FRANCIS BARRY, RBA (ENGLISH, 1883-1970) – A nocturnal lake scene (8,000-12,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 22,000 AT HAMMER

    CLAUDE FRANCIS BARRY, RBA (ENGLISH, 1883-1970) - A sunlit river landscape with sheep in the foreground (8,000-12,000)

    CLAUDE FRANCIS BARRY, RBA (ENGLISH, 1883-1970) – A sunlit river landscape with sheep in the foreground (8,000-12,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER

    A 19th century Killarney davenport (15,000-25,000)

    A 19th century Killarney davenport (15,000-25,000)  UPDATE: THIS WAS WITHDRAWN AT 14,000

    A Qianlong dish (3,000-5,000)

    A Qianlong dish (3,000-5,000)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 2,800

    One of a pair of George III period carved gilt console tables (15,000-25,000)

    One of a pair of George III period carved gilt console tables (15,000-25,000)  UPDATE: THESE MADE 24,000

    A Cork Regency sofa table (!,500-2,000)

    A Cork Regency sofa table (!,500-2,000)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 4,400

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    ANTIQUE FURNITURE AND PORTRAITS FROM AN OLD CORK HOUSEHOLD

    Monday, November 21st, 2016

    Family portraits, miniatures, engravings and furniture from the Hingston family, who lived at Horsehead House at Passage until the 1960’s, will feature at the sale by Lynes and Lynes in Carrigtwohill on November 26. There is, for example, a fine Cork Regency mahogany dining table and a set of 14 Georgian Cork six bar chairs.  Each is estimated at 4,000-6,000. A Georgian Cork  brass inlaid secretaire bookcase is estimated at 1,000-1,500, a Georgian side table with Greek key decoration always known as the lamp table when it stood in the hallway at Horsehead, is estimated at just 400-600 – (update: this made 570).  An Irish antique dining table with four additional leaves sold for 6,400.

    Keen interest is expected in a set of Nathanial Grogan engravings with five Cork views:  Monkstown Castle; Blarney Castle; St. Patrick’s Bridge; View at Tivoli and a View of Cork Harbour.  The estimate is 1,500-2,000 – (update – these sold for 4,600).  Four family portraits from Horsehead all have the R & W Clarke label on the reverse and family miniatures are estimated at 60-120 each. An engraving by Henry Morgan or Horsehead looking to Carrigaloe is estimated at 100-200 -(Update, this sold for 140).  Other lots include a Japanese lacquered collectors cabinet on stand in need of restoration (300-500), a Georgian Cork 11 bar carver (400-600), a Cork dumb waiter (500-700), a walnut chest by Warring and Gillows (400-600), a partners desk (500-800) and bedroom furniture. A large Irish mahogany dining table, more than 15′ long, is estimated at 6,000-10,000 – (sold for 6,400).  There is a set of 16 antique dining chairs by Strahan of Dublin.  No less than 60 lots of books include the North Munster Antiquarian Journals, the Council Book of Kinsale by Richard Caulfield and Danger Zone (the story of the Queenstown Command).  There are two large lots of quantities of comics (The Magnet and The Gem), a run of The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, several lots of bundles of old Cork newspapers and old maps of various cities of the world.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    A Cork Regency dining table and a set of Georgian six bar chairs

    A Cork Regency dining table and a set of Georgian six bar chairs UPDATE: THE TABLE MADE 2,500, THE CHAIRS 3,000

    One of a number of family portraits from Horsehead with the R & W Clarke label on the reverse

    One of a number of family portraits from Horsehead with the R & W Clarke label on the reverse  UPDATE: THIS MADE 110

    A Georgian Cork secrétaire bookcase

    A Georgian Cork secrétaire bookcase  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700

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    MARILYN’S DRESS MAKES $4 MILLION AT HAMMER AT JULIEN’S

    Friday, November 18th, 2016
    That dress. The front view.

    That dress. The front view.

    The rear view.

    The rear view.

    The skin tight flesh coloured dress worn by Marilyn Monroe as she sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to JFK  has just sold for a hammer price of $4 million at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles. Lot number 83 was described as the historic dress worn by Marilyn when she sang to JFK at Madison Square Garden in 1962.  It was an early 45th birthday celebration.The custom made Jean Louis creation was so tight fitting that Marilyn had to be sewn into it at the last moment.

    Under a bright spotlight Marilyn Monroe walked on stage and peeled away her white ermine fur coat, revealing the sheer dress that sparkled with over 2,500 handstitched crystals. Her intimate tone and projection of the words Mr. President stunned the audience.  She died three months later, the President was assassinated the following year.  Prior to the sale the dress was displayed in Ireland at the Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons.

    It was bought by Ripleys Believe it or Not! which owns a chain of museums.

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for September 7 and June 2, 2016)

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    FONSIE MEALY’S TWO DAY SALE IN CASTLECOMER

    Monday, November 14th, 2016

    Viewing is now underway at Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny for Fonsie Mealy’s two day sale on November 15 and 16. The catalogue lists 982 lots and includes collections from Renville House, Oranmore, Co. Galway, the Coghill family, Drumcondra House, Dublin, Dromoland Castle, Co. Clare, two private collections of Old Master paintings, horse drawn carriages and vintage cars.  There are stained glass windows from the Clarke studios, an engraving of the Old Countess of Desmond, a 1914 Talbot Invincible car, an Irish provincial silver cream jug, fine portrait miniatures and two Roman oil scenes

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for November 6 and October 28, 2016)

    Attributed to Ozias Humphrey (1742-1810) -Hester Countess of Charleville (2,000-3,000)

    Attributed to Ozias Humphrey (1742-1810) -Hester Countess of Charleville (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,200 AT HAMMER

    A George III writing table (Cork) c1800 (800-1,200)

    A George III writing table (Cork) c1800 (800-1,200)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 800 AT HAMMER

    The Clarke Studios gothic design landscape panel of The Four Provinces of Ireland (1,000-1,500)

    The Clarke Studios gothic design landscape panel of The Four Provinces of Ireland (1,000-1,500)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,700 AT HAMMER

    A three quarter length portrait of Sir Marmaduke Coghill (1673-1739) sitting in his robes (3,000-4,000)

    A three quarter length portrait of Sir Marmaduke Coghill (1673-1739) sitting in his robes (3,000-4,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,700 AT HAMMER

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    AN IRISH SILVER PORRINGER FROM THE TIME OF OLIVER CROMWELL

    Wednesday, November 9th, 2016
    The Porringer dates to the time of Oliver Cromwell.

    The Porringer dates to the time of Oliver Cromwell.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR A HAMMER PRICE OF £25,000

    A porringer made in Dublin during the time of Oliver Cromwell is to be auctioned by Sworders Auctioneers at Stansted in England on November 30. Dating to between 1659 and 1663 it is estimated at £4,000-6,000 and is reckoned to be one of the oldest pieces of secular Irish silver known.  Engraved with the initials I.S. it is marked with a Dublin Harpl

    The porringer is from the collection of Col. S.L. Bibby.  According to his granddaughter much of his collection was stolen.   Seven pieces from the collection of Col. Bibby were included in an exhibition entitled Seven Centuries of English Domestic Silver at the Royal Ontario Museum in 1958.

    Among the tiny corpus of pre-1660 domestic wares published in Tony Sweeney’s catalogue raisonné of Irish Stuart Silver (1995) is an austere porringer from the end of the Commonwealth period. It was shown by How of Edinburgh at the Antique Dealers Fair and Exhibition at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel in 1967 priced at £3,000. An advertisement in the Connoisseur magazine in the same year stated: ‘There would appear to be only one earlier piece of Irish secular plate at present recorded’. At the time, only a table salt made in Dublin c.1640 by the English migrant goldsmith George Gallant was thought to pre-date it.

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    MARKET FOR IMPORTANT DESIGN GROWS

    Tuesday, November 8th, 2016

    The market for important works of design has gone from strength to strength in recent months.  The Design sale at Sotheby’s in London on November 15 follows on successful similar sales in New York and Paris in 2016.  Following the success of a relaunched dedicated design sale for London in 2015, this second edition will be underpinned by important works of Post-war Scandinavian, Italian, French, American and Contemporary Design, including rare examples by Arne Jacobsen, Gerrit Rietveld, Gio Ponti, Studio Job, Marc Newsom and Nacho Carbonell. The sale takes place just days ahead of the landmark opening of a major new home for London’s Design Museum.

    Fontana Arte - Low Table Model No. 1774

    Fontana Arte – Low Table Model No. 1774  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £50,000

    Gerrit Thomas Rietveld - Zig Zag Chair

    Gerrit Thomas Rietveld – Zig Zag Chair  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £16,875

    Hans Coper - Monumental Spade Form vase

    Hans Coper – Monumental Spade Form vase  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £62,500

    Arne Jacobsen - Desk

    Arne Jacobsen – Desk  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

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    SOME LOTS TO CREATE INTERNATIONAL INTEREST AT FONSIE MEALY

    Sunday, November 6th, 2016
    A pair of Roman scenes of The Coliseum and the Pantheon are among a number of lots likely to create international interest at Fonsie Mealy’s two day Chatsworth fine art sale in Castlecomer on November 15 and 16.  The oils on canvas, in carved gilt wood frames, are estimated at 20,000-30,000. There are two stained glass panels from the Clarke Studios commissioned around 1900 by the Pierce family of Wexford for the portico of their home – King David and the Creation is estimated at 5,000-7,000 and a panel depicting the four provinces of Ireland is estimated at 1,000-1,500.

    Vintage barn finds include a 1914 Talbot Invincible (17,000-22,000) and a 1939 Vauxhall (3,500-5,000).  Both are in need of extensive restoration.  A brougham by Robson of Belfast is estimated at 4,000-5,000.

    The Coliseum - one of a pair of Roman oils on canvas (20,000-30,000)

    The Coliseum – one of a pair of Roman oils on canvas (20,000-30,000)  UPDATE: THIS  MADE 22,000 AT HAMMER

    A Brougham by Robsons of Belfast (4,000-5,000)

    A Brougham by Robsons of Belfast (4,000-5,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,250 AT HAMMER

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