SHERATON REVIVAL SIDE CABINET. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This attractive Sheraton Revival inlaid satinwood side cabinet is lot 404 at Adams online only At Home sale on June 11. The rectangular breakfront form has a central panelled door inset with a circular painted plaque decorated with a mother and child. It is flanked by a pair of astragal glazed panel doors and turned independent columns and turned legs. The estimate is €2,000-3,000. More than 500 lots will come under the hammer. Viewing is at St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin from June 7 – 10 and the catalogue is online.
A UNION JACK FLOWN FROM HMS SPARTIATE AT THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR, OCTOBER 21, 1805 UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £1,068,500
A Union Jack flag from the Battle of Trafalgar will come up at Christie’s Exceptional Sale in London on July 1 with an estimate of £500,000-800,000. One of the most spectacular and consequential naval victories in history, The Battle of Trafalgar ended the threat of an invasion of Britain by Napoleon, setting the scene for a century or more of British dominance of the seas. The flag shows signs of battle damage. Analysis by the Zaricor Flag Collection – from which it is being offered for sale – revealed shards of metal embedded in the fabric in several places, notably in the half-moon shaped loss to one edge, suggesting that this is the ‘footprint’ of a cannon ball. Fragments of wood splinters were also found throughout.
It is one of only three intact Union Jacks known to survive from the Battle of Trafalgar. It has been offered on the market just once before in its 220 year history, having been preserved by Captain James Clephan R .N . (1768-1851) who was the Spartiate‘s second lieutenant and then passed by descent until it was acquired in 2009 by Benjamin Reed Zaricor (1947-2022) for the Zaricor Flag Collection. The design was introduced in 1801 after the Act of Union with Ireland. HMS Spartiate fought at the Battle of Trafalgar under Francis Laforey. With Minotaur, she forced the surrender of the Spanish ship Neptuno, of 80 guns. She was was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line captured from the French at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.
One of a pair of hide upholstered Chesterfield settees which made a hammer price of €11,500
The two day Great Irish Interiors sale at Sheppards in Durrow got off to a flying start today when a pair of hide upholstered roll back Chesterfield settees sold for a hammer price of €11,500. Estimated at €2,500-€3,500 they were the subject of a bidding battle between a buyer in the room and another on the internet. The auction continues today and tomorrow.
19TH-CENTURY GOTHIC REVIVAL GILT HARP BY ERARD. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
This imposing 19th-century pedal harp by Erard, in the Gothic Revival style, richly decorated with giltwood ornamentation, is lot 227 at Sheppards Great Irish Interiors sale on May 27 and 28. The column is adorned with pierced gothic arches and tracery above a fluted shaft, leading to a finely carved neck with the maker’s inscription: Sebastian Erard, London. It is estimated at €2,500-€3,500. The sale is now on view in Durrow and the catalogue is online.
A pair of Irish giltwood console tables. UPDATE: THESE MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER
A pair of Irish giltwood console tables, a Cork shipwreck by Richard Peterson Atkinson, 19th century porcelain birds, possibly Meissen and a Donegal carpet attributed to C F A Voysey – trappings typical of a grand Irish country house – feature at the Great Irish Interiors sale at Sheppards in Durrow on May 27-28.
More than 1,300 lots showcase the rich history of antiques, art and decorative objects rooted in the grand tour, the Enlightenment and trade links with China and the Middle East that once abounded in the houses of Ireland. Lots like a large French tapestry, a Sevres style mantel clock, a bronze sculpture of a Roman charioteer on a marble plinth attest to a past which focused both on collection from abroad and promotion of local skills. The latter resulted in lots on offer like an exceptional Killarney davenport, fine Irish silver and antique furniture made by skilled craftspeople in Ireland. The auction is on view in Durrow from today and the catalogue is online.
City of New York aground on Daunt Rock, 1864, a watercolour by Richard Peterson Atkinson. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER
A rare Irish Free State pattern florin dating from 1927 discovered in an antiques market in Italy over 40 years ago by an Italian collector could fetch up to £10,000 when it is offered at Noonans Mayfair in a sale of Coins, Historical Medals and Numismatic Books on May 29. UPDATE: THIS MADE £10,000 AT HAMMER
Oliver Hepburn of Noonans explained: “This rare copper florin was designed by Publio Morbiducci (1889 -1963) a leading Italian sculptor, medalist and painter in the early and mid-1900s. Morbiducci was among a group of international artists who were asked to submit designs for Ireland’s first coinage. The competition was won by the British engraver Percy Metcalfe.”
“It is very exciting that this particular example was discovered in a market in Morbiducci’s home country, and these patterns only come up for auction once in a blue moon. Fewer than a dozen examples have sold in the last 20 years. This penny was never put into circulation and obviously the dealer in the market, didn’t quite appreciate its rarity. It is decorated with a harp on one side and a salmon on the other and officially only two sets were minted for presentation to the Irish Currency Commission. However, after the competition, it is thought that Morbiducci minted several more sets for private use, though exact figures are unknown.”
19TH-CENTURY KILLARNEY YEW AND ARBUTUS WOOD MARQUETRY TABLE. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This 19th Killarney centre circular centre table inlaid with yew and arbutus wood is among the highlights at Sheppards Great Irish Interiors sale in Durrow on May 27 and 28. The top is centred by circular marquetry medallions and enclosed within elaborate borders of Celtic strapwork, foliate motifs and symbolic patterns. More than 1200 lots will come under the hammer and the catalogue is online. The estimate on this table, which comes up on May 28, is €6,000-€9,000.
Pictured here is one of a rare pair of mid 18th century carved limestone Medici lions which made a hammer price of €42,000 at Adams house to garden sale in Dublin today. The Medici Lion, with its striding pose and paw resting upon a sphere, became a widely adopted sculptural type in eighteenth-century Britain and Ireland, particularly within the context of the Palladian revival. The model derives from a Roman marble of the second century AD and a pendant carved in 1598 by the Roman sculptor Flaminio Vacca (1538–1605), commissioned for the Villa Medici in Rome by Ferdinando I de’ Medici (1549–1609), Grand Duke of Tuscany. By the mid-18th century, British and Irish sculptors and masons were producing carved stone interpretations for architectural and landscape settings, particularly as gate or terrace ornaments. The pair had been estimated at €50,000-€70,000. A monumental neo classical white marble fountain made €18,000, a carved Dublin William IV doorcase made €11,000, a 19th century Scottish terracotta balustrade by Garnkirk made €11,000, a cast lead figure of Orpheus made €9,000, a pair of composite stone figures of seated hounds made €8,500, a large statuary and Sienna marble chimneypiece, an 18th century marble bust of Domitian Caesar and a reconstructed Portland Stone neoclassical doorcase all made €8,000.
Mid 19th century Irish dining table and 12 Cork chairs at Lynes and Lynes. UPDATE: The table made €3,400 at hammer, the chairs were unsold.
Artworks from the estate of Brian Looney, former editor of the Irish Examiner, are included in the Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill on May 24. The auction offers boardroom furniture from the Dulux factory in Cork, established in 1885 by the Harrington family. Lot 228 is a folder with correspondence between Michael Collins, then Minister for Finance, and Genoa based Donal Hales, Irish consul for Italy from 1919 and brother of assassinated Cork TD Sean Hales.
Artworks include Meeting of the Currachs by Ciaran Clear and a signed lithograph by the American artist Frank Stella. A mid 19th century dining table is estimated at €4,000-€6,000 and a set of 12 Cork 11-bar chairs at €3,500-€4,500. There is jewellery including a platinum and diamond three stone ring, a 1950’s childs penny farthing bicycle and a church bell made by James Atkins, Cork c1810 believed to be from St. Mary’s Church in Cobh.
The auction by Woodwards in Cork next Saturday offers antique furniture including a Georgian chest on chest, a George II card table, a pair of Edwardian demi-lune tables, an Edwardian parquetry table and a set of Cork chairs. There is a pair of cast iron garden seats by Pierce of Wexford, a model of a three masted schooner and a selection of porcelain, glassware, rugs and mirrors. Both auctions are on view from May 17 and the catalogues are online.
A parquetry inlaid table at Woodwards sale. UPDATE: This made 240 at hammer.
Specifically created for the Spanish virtuoso AndrésSegovia – who never played it – the classical guitar known as La Inedita was crafted in Madrid in 1935 by legendary luthier Santos Hernández (1874-1943). Through twists of fate, this exceptional instrument never reached the master’s hands, becoming a mysterious piece of musical lore. Upon completion, instead of personally visiting Santos Hernández’s workshop, Segovia merely requested that the guitar be delivered to his hotel. This deeply offended the master luthier, who felt slighted and decided not only to refuse to sell it to Segovia but also to store it away untouched, ensuring no one else could play it. In the early 1970s Spanish Mexican businessman, philanthropist and renowned art collector Plácido Arango Arias acquired the guitar. Now this long-lost treasure emerges from history. It will be sold by Bonham’s an online sale from May 19-28 in Paris. The estimate is €125,000 – 185,000 with all proceeds benefitting children battling cancer through Fundación Aladina.
