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A DISTINGUISHED ULSTER COLLECTION AT JAMES ADAM

Friday, April 1st, 2016

Antique European furniture, art, clocks, books, Oriental rugs, porcelain, glass, decorative items and collectibles will come under the hammer at the James Adam sale entitled A Distinguished Ulster Collection in Dublin on April 6. The catalogue, which is on line, lists 449 lots. Here is a small selection:

A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI WHITE OVOID MARBLE AND ORMOLU FOUR-LIGHT CANDELABRA (10,000-15,000) UPDATE: THIS LOT WAS UNSOLD

A MAHOGANY AND MARQUETRY NEO-CLASSICAL SMALL COMMODE, Milan, Late 18th Century (2,500-4,500) UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

A SEVRES POT AND COVER, with marks for 1778, with gilt metal mounts (500-800) UPDATE: THIS MADE 200 AT HAMMER

JAMES ARTHUR O’CONNOR
A Wooded Landscape with Figures with figures on a Path, a Lake Behind (12,000-14,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 16,000 AT HAMMER

A LOUIS XV KINGWOOD VENEERED BUREAU EN PENTE (2,000-3,000) UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

A SMALL GILTWOOD ROCOCO MIRROR, 18TH CENTURY, ITALIAN (250-400) UPDATE: THIS MADE 680 AT HAMMER

AN IRISH GEORGE III SPHERICAL GILT METAL LANTERN (2,000-3,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,600 AT HAMMER

Tags: james adam, James Arthur O'Connor, Sevres
Posted in ART, AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES, FURNITURE | No Comments »

MATTHEWS AUCTION AT HEADFORT HOUSE IN KELLS

Thursday, March 31st, 2016

The annual Headfort House antique and fine art sale by Matthews of Oldcastle takes place on Sunday April 3 at 1.30 p.m. Many lots are estimated at under 500. Headfort House is in Kells, Co. Meath. The catalogue, which lists 843 lots, is online. Here is a small selection:

William IV library table (1,000-1,500)

Rouge marble fire surround (1,000-1,500)

Pair of Irish Georgian mirrors and sconces (1,000-1,500).

Edwardian Coalbrookdale garden seat (500-800)

Tags: Headfort House, Matthews Oldcastle
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VACHERON CONSTANTIN LES MASQUES COLLECTION AT SOTHEBY’S

Monday, March 28th, 2016

Set of Twelve Automatic Wristwatches with Day, Date and Engraved Miniature Mask Dial, Métiers d’Art – Les Masques made in 2007 – 2009 (US$1-1.55 million).

A complete set of 12 Vacheron Constantin wristwatches from the ‘Métiers d’Art – Les Masques’ Collection comes up at Sotheby’s sale of important watches in Hong Kong on April 6. Making its debut on auction floor each features an engraved tribal mask from the Barbier Muller Museum in Geneva. The sale will offer more than 340 lots with a total estimate of US$8.2-12 million.

Sharon Chan, Head of Watches, Sotheby’s Asia, said: “To stay on top of the competitive global watch market Sotheby’s international team of watch specialists have put together a meticulous selection of timepieces for the Important Watches Hong Kong Sale in April, including vintage Patek Philippe and Rolex watches, spectacular enamelled pieces as well as innovative creations by independent watchmakers. Spanning vintage, modern and contemporary timepieces, the selection offered this season is attractively estimated, including extremely rare pieces appearing in auction for the very first time.”

Tags: sotheby's, Vacheron Constantin, Watches
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THE 1844 ORDNANCE SURVEY OF IRELAND AT HEGARTY’S

Sunday, March 27th, 2016

A set of bound volumes (13 in all) of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, 1844 comes up at Hegarty’s sale in Bandon April 3. The survey just predates the famine and is from the collection of the late Margaret Ridgeway, founder of Kilcolman National Nature Reserve in Doneraile, Co. Cork. Some of these items, including the Ordnance Survey which is stamped Lord Doneraile, were previously in the collection at Doneraile Court. Also included is a set of maps of Cork and Waterford by a Captain Larcombe, which were commissioned by Lord Doneraile in 1845 and used by him on hunting trips.

Another lot of historical interest is the belt plate of the Kinnalea and Kerricurrihy Cavaly from the Westropp collection. The plate closely resembles that worn by the Royal Cork Volunteers and has been featured in the Cork Historical Journal.

Antique furniture includes a Regency rosewood Cork fold over card table (2,000-4,000), an Irish early 19th century partners desk (3,000-4,000), a George II Irish gilt wood mirror (2,000-3,500), a four door library bookcase (2,000-5,000) and an oval George III fold over tea table (3,000-5,000).t of the sale at 3 pm on Sunday week.

Six bound volumes of the 1844 Ordnance Survey of Ireland

Bound volumes of the 1844 Ordnance Survey of Ireland. UPDATE: SOLD FOR 8,200

A Regency rosewood Cork fold over card table

A Regency rosewood fold over card table. UPDATE: SOLD FOR 2,200

The belt plate of the Kinnalea and Kerricurrihy Cavalry. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD AND UNDER ACTIVE NEGOTIATION AFTER THE AUCTION

Tags: Hegarty's Bandon, Lord Doneraile, Ordnance Survey of Ireland 1844
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RARE IRISH £50 NOTE FROM 1928 AT DIX NOONAN WEBB

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016

The Irish 1928 £50 note.

A rare Irish 1928 £50 note – one of only about 20 examples available to collectors – comes up at Dix Noonan Webb in London on April 11. Estimated at £14,000-18,000 it highlights a strong selection of 100 Irish banknotes. After the 1922 establishment of the Irish Free State a currency commission was set up to advise the government of a monetary system. The first series of notes – with denominations from ten shillings to £100 – was issued on September 10, 1928. Only 10,000 of the £50 notes were issued and it is the most difficult to find. Around 20 of them are thought to have survived outside public collections. The print run for the first £100 note was lower, but many more of them are known to have survived.

Lady Hazel Lavery, wife of the artist Sir John Lavery, appears on all the notes. The new currency was linked to sterling. Other rarities include a Royal Bank of Ireland £10 note from 1929 (£4,000-5,000), and two Central Bank of Ireland £1 notes from 1943. During the Second World War Irish notes were printed in England and sent to Ireland. They were stamped with code letters so that they were easy to remonetize if the ship was attacked or the cash captured.

A pair of war coded 1943 £1 notes.

A Royal Bank of Ireland £10 note from 1929.

Tags: Dix Noonan Webb, Irish 1928 £50 note
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A SKELETON CLOCK AT MEALY’S IN CASTLECOMER

Monday, March 21st, 2016

A skeleton clock, pewter, an early depiction of Waterford city and a set of 17 mahogany dining chairs from Cork Chamber of Commerce will all feature at Mealy’s Spring Fine Art sale in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny on March 22 and 23. The auction includes one of Ireland’s largest private collections of clocks and timepieces and the pewter collection of the late Geoffrey O’Connor of Co. Kerry. The catalogue cover is a 19th century brass skeleton mantel clock in the form of the Sir Walter Scott monument in Edinburgh from the collection of Michael Guerin, who died in 2015. It is estimated at 700-1,000.There are unique Irish clocks including both long case and a double fusee wall clock with an intricate case carving by Chancellor and Son of Dublin as well as English, French and German clocks.

An early watercolour View of Reginald’s Tower in Waterford by John George Mulvany (1766-1838) is certain to arouse local interest (1,200-1,800). The pewter collection includes work by the highly collectible Austen and Son of North Main St., Cork.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 14, 2016)

A skeleton clock (700-1,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,180

An early watercolour of Waterford, A view of Reginald’s Tower by John George Mulvany (1766-1838) (1,200-1,800) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 6,000

A set of five Irish pewter hay stack measures by Austen and Son, North Main St., Cork (400-600).

A Killarney davenport (5,000-6,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 5,400

Tags: Killarney davenport, mealy's, Skeleton Clock
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THE SHOES OF ANDY WARHOL

Saturday, March 19th, 2016

A complete portfolio of hand-coloured lithographs of shoe designs by Andy Warhol – À la recherche du shoe perdu – together with Shoe and Leg, produced c1955 comes up at Sotheby’s in London on March 22. Warhol was a commercial illustrator for fashion magazines and advertising agencies, and in 1955 he was appointed the sole illustrator of the I. Miller shoe campaign. Warhol made new drawings of shoes each week for advertisements in The New York Times and À la recherche du shoe perdu links directly to his work for I. Miller. Shoes became Warhol’s signature product. In the early 1960s, he moved to the more commercial Pop imagery with which he is now associated.

The hand-colouring was done by Warhol and his friends – with Dr. Martin’s aniline watercolour dyes – often during ‘colouring parties’. As such, each print is unique. It has been estimated that approximately 100 of each illustration were produced. The captions were written by American poet, Ralph Pomeroy, and transcribed in distinctive calligraphy by Warhol’s mother, Julia Warhola. The text often directly references popular culture, whether Alfred Hitchcock (‘Dial M for Shoe’), Gertrude Stein (‘The Autobiography of Alice B. Shoe’) or Marcel Proust – the title of the portfolio is a riff on Proust’s famous novel À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time, or Remembrance of Things Past). The portfolio of 18 prints is estimated at £100,000-150,000. They come up at Sotheby’s sale of Prints and Multiples.

UPDATE: The Warhol portfolio made £293,000 in a sale which realised £3.2 million.

ANDY WARHOL
1928 – 1987
A LA RECHERCHE DU SHOE PERDU; AND SHOE AND LEG

ANDY WARHOL
1928 – 1987

Tags: Andy Warhol shoes, sotheby's
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A LANDMARK SALE OF SHAKESPEARE’S FIRST FOLIOS AT CHRISTIE’S

Friday, March 18th, 2016

Shakespeare – The First Editions

A landmark sale of the first four folios, the first four editions of Shakespeare’s collected works takes place at Christie’s in London in May. The Folios will be offered in a four-lot auction commemorating 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) on May 25. The sale is led by an unrecorded copy of the First Folio, the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, widely considered the most important literary publication in the English language. The First Folio contains 36 plays, 18 of which had not previously been printed and would have otherwise been lost forever. It is estimated at £800,000-1.2 million.

The plays of Shakespeare, preserved for posterity in these volumes, define our knowledge of Shakespeare the man, the playwright, the poet and the actor. The Four Folios will tour to New York from 1 to 8 April 1 to April 8 and go on public display in London from April 20 to 28 April to celebrate Shakespeare’s 400^thanniversary on April 23.

Margaret Ford, International Head of Books & Manuscripts, says: “The universality and timelessness of Shakespeare’s insight into human nature continues to engage and enthrall audiences the world over. Even four centuries after his death, his plays touch and transform lives and continue to be read and performed from Albania to Zambia. It is deeply moving to handle the first printed record of his collected plays and to be reminded of their tremendous impact. Especially exhilarating is bringing a newly recorded copy of the First Folio to public attention, and to be able to offer a set of the Four Folios in this important anniversary year.”

Tags: Christie's, First Folios, Shakespeare
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A KINSALE SILVER BOWL WITH ALMOST MYTHICAL STATUS

Tuesday, March 15th, 2016

The Kinsale Silver bowl

A Kinsale silver bowl with an almost mythical status has surfaced with well known silver dealer William Crofton of L and W Duvallier, Dublin and London. A second generation dealer of 40 years standing Crofton said the piece – made by Robert Armstrong around 1750 – is the rarest provincial bowl he has ever had.

“It is very hard to describe the feeling you get when you see such a fantastic piece out of the blue. I believe only enthusiast’s or collectors regardless of what they collect can truly relate to it” he said. “As I turned the bowl over it was like time stood still and it took me an extra couple of seconds for my brain to workout exactly what I was looking at. It is the only time I have ever come across this maker in real life in nearly 40 years”.

There are less than six pieces known to have been made by Robert Armstrong. The definitive work on Cork Silversmiths by John Bowen with Conor O’Brien makes the point that Kinsale’s ancient significance derived from its position as the most important sea port on the southern coast of Ireland. A nearly identical bowl by Robert Armstrong is illustrated in Irish Georgian Silver by Douglas Bennett. Bowls of this type of different sizes were made throughout Ireland in the first half of the 18th century as speciality items. This one is on offer with a price tag of around 45,000 euro.

Tags: Kinsale Silver, L and W Duvallier, ROBERT ARMSTRONG
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LARGE BRONZE OF DANIEL O’CONNELL AT MEALY’S

Monday, March 14th, 2016

In the season of history and memorabilia in Ireland it is worth noting that an unusual large scale bronze of Daniel O’Connell comes up at Mealy’s sale in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny on March 22-23. Inscribed NY and dated 1881 it is by American Denis B Sheahan (fl 1870-1900) and is estimated at 2,000-3,000. The auction will include one of Ireland’s largest private collections of clocks and other timepieces from the estate of the late Mr Michael Guerin (1937-2015) whose lifelong passion for collecting and the careful restoration of antique clocks has led to this outstanding and varied collection of over 100 clocks & timepieces from across Ireland and Europe and the collection of the late Mr Geoffrey O’Connor of Co. Kerry, a Pewter Society member, including his pewter collection. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection: