This 1970’s lapis lazuli and diamond ring of brutalist geometric form, made up of openwork cubes and rectangles is at the Design Sale by O’Reilly’s of Francis St., Dublin on May 14. Mounted in 18 carat gold it was retailed by Schaap and Citroen, Jewellers, of The Netherlands. Lot 93 is estimated at €2,000-€2,500. There are 259 lots in the sale and the catalogue is online.
Kashmir sapphire and diamond tank ring. UPDATE: THIS MADE 550,000 AT HAMMER
A retro tank design sapphire and diamond ring will lead Adams sale of fine jewellery and ladies watches in Dublin on May 13. Sapphires from Kashmir have a distinctive tint known to experts at blue velvet which makes them particularly valuable. The cushion shaped sapphire in this ring weighs 6.22 carats and the lot is estimated at €150,000-€250,000. A total of 307 lots are on offer but there will be no internet bidding allowed on this one.
A stylish landau, byword for luxury transport in days of yore and still maintained as a State coach in countries like Canada, Japan and the UK, comes up at Sheppards sale in Durrow on May 13. The c1908 model by John Marston’s Carriage Works Ltd. of Birmingham with classical low shell and cover that can be let down is estimated at €8,000-€12,000.
With more than 700 lots the auction offers deaccessioned material from a private museum dedicated to Irish transport and rural life and another focused on Irish domestic and agricultural heritage. Along with an extensive range of horse-drawn vehicles, vernacular furnishings, agricultural tools, and architectural salvage are sugan chairs, settle presses, traditional utensils spanning farming and everyday life.
Among the highlights are a 1948 Jowett Javelin saloon, an original 19th century penny farthing bicycle, a black E494A Ford Anglia two door saloon, an early 19th century painted pine settle press used as a prop in the filming of The Banshees of Inisherin and a rare 18th century Irish ash dug out chair.
A rare 18th century dugout ash chair. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER
Kite Over Clare Island I by John Shinnors sold for a hammer price of €36,000 over a top estimate of €20,000 at de Veres Design Auction in Dublin today. The oil on canvas laid on a board is signed and inscribed verso. From a private collection it was purchased at Carlow Arts Festival in 1997. Study for Homerton by Albert Irvin made €8,000, an Italian 1960’s wall of mirrors in six sections made €7,500, a Barcelona day bed by Mies van der Rohe made €6,000, Departure (White Water) by Hughie O’Donoghue made €10,000 and Disengage by Mark Francis made €9,000.
A carved marble head of a philosopher made €32,000 at hammer over an estimate of €1,000-€1,500 at the Library Collection sale at James Adam in Dublin today. It was described in the catalogue as possibly Roman period. The proportion is life size. It has been in a private collection in Ireland since the 1940’s. A carve marble stele on a shallow stepped based and with Latin text from the same collection made €20,000 at hammer. A 19th century Carrara marble carved bust of Julius Caesar on a pink marbled column made €9,500.
A letter written by a Titanic passenger days before the ship sank has been sold for a record-breaking £300,000 at auction. Colonel Archibald Gracie’s letter was purchased by an anonymous buyer at Henry Aldridge and Son auction house in Wiltshire on Sunday, at a price five times higher than the £60,000 it was expected to fetch.
Dated 10 April 1912, the day he boarded the Titanic in Southampton, it was posted when the ship docked in Queenstown, Ireland, on 11 April 1912. It was also postmarked London on 12 April. The letter had attracted the highest price of any correspondence written onboard the Titanic.
Col Gracie’s later wrote the book The Truth About The Titanic, recalling his experience onboard the doomed ocean liner. He survived by scrambling onto an overturned lifeboat in the icy waters. More than half the men who had originally reached the lifeboat died from exhaustion or cold, he wrote. Col Gracie survived the disaster but his health was severely affected by the hypothermia and physical injuries he suffered. He fell into a coma on 2 December 1912, and died two days later.
A silver Celtic Revival tea/coffee pot at Hegarty’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 440 AT HAMMER
From a finely crafted Celtic Revival silver pot to an advertisement for Rory Gallagher at the Carlton Cinema in Dublin in 1974 and Boehm porcelain hand painted plates and Waterford Crystal upcoming sales at Hegarty’s in Bandon, O’Donovan’s in Newcastlewest and Keighery’s in Waterford respectively offer a wide array of choice in a post Easter burst of auction activity.
Jewellery, silver, art and collectibles will come under the hammer at Hegarty’s online from 11 am on April 30. At O’Donovan’s in Newcastlewest a private collection of music memorabilia and contents from three pubs in an online only sale from 6 pm on April 28. One hour later, at 7 pm, the timed sale of porcelain, Waterford Crystal and collectibles at Keighery’s will draw to a close.
Rory Gallagher poster at O’Donovans. UPDATE: THIS MADE 140 AT HAMMER
Mahogany and brass mounted country house letter box at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER
Lots and lots of all types of lot will come under the hammer in Ireland next week with rare collectibles leading the charge.
With everything from a mahogany and brass mounted country house letter box that would not be out of place at Downton Abbey to a vintage alligator Gladstone bag the annual library collection sale at James Adam in Dublin on April 29 offers a selection of 344 lots with something of interest to most of us.
An old AA road sign at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 330 AT HAMMER
Vintage road signs are popular collectibles and feature at several sales. There is bound to be local interest in an old AA mileage sign for Blarney and Cork at Victor Mee’s sale at Belturbet on April 29 and 30. The online only auction offers advertising materials and a mix of nostalgic items. Among them are enough Irish carnival and fairground pieces from Warrenpoint in Co. Down and Buncrana in Co. Donegal to keep any keen restorer busy for months.
A vintage Italian bar at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE €1,800 at hammer
A 1970’s vintage chrome and gilt Italian bar is not something you come across everyday. This one, complete with tinted mirror front and stainless steel counter, is at de Veres timed online design auction which runs until April 29. The auction is a mix of classic design pieces by Eileen Gray, Arne Jacobsen, Gianfranco Frattini and Gianni Versace and art by John Shinnors, Albert Irvin, Cecil King, Tony O’Malley, Felim Egan and Mark Francis.
A full length portrait photograph of Michael Collins with moustache on a balcony in London will create interest at Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collectors sale in Castlecomer on April 30 and May 1. More than 700 widely varied lots will come under the hammer here over two days. These range from rare sporting memorabilia like Kerry’s first All Ireland football championship winners medal from 1903 to a limited edition illustrated volume of The Vatican Frescoes of Michelangelo and a scarce limited edition copy of Squarings, Twelve Poems by Seamus Heaney with four lithographic prints by Felim Egan signed by both author and artist.
There are all sorts of highlights at these sales. The Dedication of the Temple of Solomon by Franz Ludwig Hermann at Adams is monumental and depicts a fantastical view of the temple. Sacrifices to mark the dedication are said to have included 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. A painting by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson depicts a crowded harbour with paddle steamers.
A child’s carousel ride at Victor Mee will evoke many memories along with several antique puppets and a 1970’s tinplate fairground motorcycle.
A full length portrait photograph of Michael Collins in London by La Fayette at Fonsie Mealy. UPDATE: THIS MADE €600 AT HAMMER
A prototype of the Liam McCarthy cup, by tradition the sample maker Edmund Johnston of Grafton St. in Dublin presented to the committee for the Liam McCarthy, is at Fonsie Mealy. In the event a variant was chosen. Choices here include is a first (1955) edition of Moonraker, the third James Bond novel by Ian Fleming; a painting of George Best in action by the British artist Tom Croft, approved by Best and originally intended to be made into a limited edition print run, a plan that was abandoned when Best fell ill; five volumes of The Georgian Society records of 18th century domestic architecture in Dublin and an official Adidas Argentina team jersey signed by Diego Maradonna. Treasures abound everywhere….
Irish Georgian peat buckets. UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER
This matching pair of mahogany Irish Georgian peat buckets with their original carrying handles are at Victor Mitchell’s country house heirlooms sale in Roscrea on April 30. On offer is the estate of the late Mabel Wallace of Ballinacor, Shinrone and various lots from other clients. Among 606 lots on offer are an antique pair of 19th century walnut carved pedestals, a pier mirror in the style of Booker and a rare group of 95 leather bound publications from the Jockey Club from 1786 to 1886. The peat buckets are lot 320 and estimated at €1,500-€2,000.
There is a shameful history in this set of seven very rare original mounted photographs at Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collectors sale in Castlecomer on April 30 and May 1. Mostly taken by T O’ Connor of Limerick they show evictions at the Vandeleur estate in Co. Clare in the late 1880’s. There are photographs of the police, battering rams, those who were evicted.
In the 1840’s it is estimated that up to 1,000 people were evicted from the Vandeleur estate. The evictions of 1888 do not compare in scale but they are the best remembered. By 1888 eviction was resisted in most instances, large crowds went along to watch, tenants had legal representation and were organised. In the famine years Captain Kennedy, the Poor Law Inspector in the area, calculated that over 6,000 people had been evicted in Kilrush Union between July and early December 1848. Less than a year later Mr. Poulett Scrope, a British M.P. who visited West Clare, estimated that 20,000 had been evicted in Kilrush Union in the previous two years-and that the greater number of these had died in the meantime. Not all were Vandeleur tenants. At Fonsie Mealy’s sale these photographs are estimated at €400-€600.
