antiquesandartireland.com

Nearly 2,000 collectors from across the globe registered to bid for the collection of the late Stanley J. Seeger at Sotheby’s in London on March 5 and 6.  So it is hardly surprising that bidders came out in droves to vie for objects collected by Seeger whose taste was  eclectic, but always refined.  The sale offers everything from dinosaur eggs to a replica of  Tutankhamun’s golden throne.  Among the pieces sold yesterday were Admiral Lord Nelson’s teapot which made £56,250 over a top estimate of £12,000; a claret jug from the Titanic which made £40,000 over a top estimate of £3,000 and Sir Winston Churchill’s c1880 armchair which made £27,500 over a top estimate of £5,000.

UPDATE: ON the second day of the sale Orson Welles own working copy of the script for Citizen Kane sold for £98,500 over a top estimate of £20,000 and Al Capone’s cocktail shaker made £50,000 over a top estimate of £1,500.  The sale concluded with an outstanding total of £7,348,009, well above pre-sale expectations  of £3-4.5 million.

Admiral Lord Nelson’s Bachelor Teapot, 1799

A claret jug from the Titanic

Sir Winston Churchill’s Armchair, circa 1880.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 4, 2014)

The range of interest at Whyte’s sale of History, Literature and Collectibles in Dublin on March 9 is astonishing.  Ranging from architectural drawings for St. Petersburg in the middle of the 18th century to a photograph of a Flying Squad, guerrilla soldiers who operated in Ireland during the War of Independence, to a campaign post for President  John F. Kennedy, this is a sale which offers something for all collectors.  The catalogue with more than 900 lots is online.  Here is a small selection:

1960: John F. Kennedy Presidential Campaign Poster (400-500).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 420

St. George Hare RI ROI (1857-1933) oil painting of Princesses Madeleine and Olga Von Dembinska, Pretenders to the Polish Thron (600-800)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

Arkhitekturnye chertezhi Sankt-Peterburga serediny XVIII veka = St Petersburg in the middle of the 18th century : architectural drawings (800-1,000).  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

1919-21: Original photograph of a ‘Flying Squad’ (100-150).  UPDATE:  Identified as the West Mayo Brigade this made 420.

Drawing of County of Dublin Militia reviewed by their Colonel Lord Meath c1870 (300-500). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

Picture postcards, mainly Irish, 1905-1920 (150-200).  UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 340

An original letter relating to the campaign of William of Orange in Ireland (300-500).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 500

A resurgence of interest in natural history, climate change and extinction has fuelled the collecting market for natural history.  Christie’s sale of Travel, Science and Natural History in South Kensington on April 10 will feature a very rare Dodo bone and a cave bear skull from the upper Pleistocene era.  Cave bears became extinct in the last Ice Age, Dodo’s in the 1700’s. When Christie’s offered a Dodo bone last year it was the first to come to auction since 1934. It sold for £8,125. Now they have another one.  The rarity of the piece is reflected in the estimate of £10,000-15,000. Cave Bear Skull’s are not as rare as this, but it is becoming much more difficult to trade in them legitimately.

James Hyslop, Head of Travel, Science and Natural History, Christie’s South Kensington commented: “As an icon of extinction, the dodo is second to none”.

UPDATE: The sale realised £850,625. The top lot was an ice axe associated with legendary mountaineer George Mallory which sold for £132,100.  An elephant bird egg sold for a world record price of £122,500.

A rare Dodo bone, expected to realise between £10,000-15,000. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

Cave Bear Skull
From the upper Pleistocene, 126,000-12,000 years old (£2,000-3,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd. 2014.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £2,125

Vintage brooches and contemporary rings are among the lots at O’Reilly’s sale at Francis St., Dublin on February 24.  Around 400 lots across accessible price ranges will come under the hammer.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

A VERY FINE QUALITY EMERALD RING, the trap cut emerald to stepped diamond shoulders. (20,000-25,000).

AN AMETHYST AND DIAMOND RING, set with a brilliant cut diamond, mounted in gold (900 – 1,000)

TWO PEARL AND GEM SET BROOCHES, modelled as bees, 9ct gold set (180 – 220)

TWO VINTAGE GOLD BROOCHES, set with pearls, signed Winard (80 – 120)

More than 200 lots of silver, including  Irish provincial Cork and Limerick pieces and prime examples from Dublin and London, will be featured at the Sunday Interiors sale at James Adam, Dublin on March 9.   Here is a small selection.  The catalogue is online.

A large ladle by William Teulon, Cork 1795.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400

A pair of George III helmet shaped sauce boats Dublin 1785, probably by Thomas Jones.  UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,000.

A pair of George II Rococo silver table candlesticks, London 1756, mark of John Cafe.  UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,800.

The North Cork Rifles – an engraved presentation snuff box, London 1855 mark of Charles Rawlings – William Summers. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,500

A Cork George III bright cut engraved sugar bowl by Carden Terry and Jane Williams.  UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,200.

The Hutton-Mdivani necklace.  UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $27.44 million.

The world’s greatest jadeite bead necklace comes up at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on April 7.  The Hutton-Mdivani necklace is estimated to sell for more than $12.8 million US.  Formerly in the collection of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton its provenance spans members of western nobility and Imperial China.  The most important piece of jadeite jewellery known comprises 27 gigantic beads of magnificent green colour, excellent translucency, extremely fine texture and majestic proportions. 

The Cartier archive records the beads being in their possession in 1933 when an innovative clasp was designed especially for the Hutton family. It was presented as a wedding gift that year to Barbara Hutton from her father on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Mdivani.  To fashion a strand of matching jadeite beads, all the beads must be carved from the same boulder and as many as three times the desired number of beads are often needed from which to select the most suitable ones. With the immense wastage involved, jadeite bead necklaces rank among the most valuable and sought-after forms of jadeite jewellery.

Prior to the sale it will be showcased in travelling exhibitions in Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei and Kaohsiung before going on display in Hong Kong.

UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $27.44 MILLION US

AN IRISH GOTHIC REVIVAL WHITE MARBLE PANEL
CIRCA 1840, by repute removed from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh (£600-800) Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014

A c1840 Gothic Revival panel from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh is among the more surprising lots at an Interiors sale at Christie’s South Kensington on March 18. Carved on both sides as two connecting scrolls Christie’s estimate it at £600-800.  The catholic cathedral in Armagh was designed by two architects, as work was suspended in the mid-1840’s due to the famine. The lower half was designed in 1838 in the English Perpendicular Style by Thomas Duff the Newry. The Upper half was designed in 1853 in the French Decorated Gothic Style by J.J. McCarthy of Dublin.  The cathedral was dedicated in 1873.  Christie’s say the rood screen from which this section of panelling is thought to originate was destroyed when the cathedral was remodelled in 1980 along with the High Altar designed by Italian sculptor Cesare Aureli (1844-1923).

The auction will feature the collection of celebrated interior designer Tessa Kennedy,  best known for designing the Rivoli Bar at the Ritz which was reinstated in 2001 and for which she was awarded Designer of the Year. She has been an international decorator to stars for the past 50 years with clients including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, George Harrison, Pierce Brosnan, corporate clients like De Beers and world renowned hotels like Claridges and The Berkeley.  The collection features furniture from her Knightsbridge apartment and film tokens like Marlon Brandon’s buckskin jacket from the film The Missouri Breaks.

A GEORGE IV PARCEL GILT OAK HALF-TESTER BED
CIRCA 1830, IN THE MANNER OF WILLIAM PORDEN (£4,000-6,000) Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014

MARLON BRANDO’S BUFF BUCKSKIN JACKET FROM THE MISSOURI BREAKS
1976 (£1,500-2,500). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.

A PAIR OF FRENCH ORMOLU WALL TROPHIES
OF LOUIS XV STYLE, LATE 19TH CENTURY (£2,500-4,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.