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Antique Irish silver will feature at Sotheby’s Collections sale in London on September 24.  Lot 69 in the sale is  a knife tray made in Dublin by James Fray in 1825 with the arms of FitzGerald, Duke of Leinster. It is estimated at £2,000-3,000. Lot 263 is a pair of Irish George III salvers made in Dublin in 1771 by Robert Williams. The estimate is £1,500-£2,000. (Click on either image to enlarge it).

A pair of George III Irish silver salvers at Sotheby’s.  UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD.

This Irish silver knife tray is at Sotheby’s in London on September 24.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,875

Magnificent silver with Russian imperial provenance will come up at Christie’s in Paris next November 8.  A soup tureen on stand and a set of four massive candlesticks from the Orloff service will highlight a sale of decorative arts from the 13th to the 19th centuries entitled “Le gout Francais”.  Commissioned in 1770 by Empress Catherine II of Russia from the finest Parisian silversmith of the time Jacques Roettiers (1707-1784) and his son  Jacques-Nicolas (1736-1788) the service comprised more than 3,000 pieces. It is one of the earliet expressions of the Neo-classical style in silver.  Items from this legendary service have occasionally appeared at auction, but it is more than 20 years since such a significant group has been presented to the international market. (Click on either image to enlarge).

Silver Soup tureen
Jacques-Nicolas Röettiers
Paris, 1770-1771
(1,500,000 – 2,000,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2013.

4 silver candlesticks
Jacques-Nicolas Röettiers
Paris, 1770-1771 (500,000 – 800,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2013

A pair of neo-classical London silver soup tureens by Paul Storr dating from 1798 is among a selection of silver, furniture, art, porcelain and collectibles at the James Adam Sunday Interiors sale in Dublin on September 15 at 11 a.m. The catalogue, with 610 lots in total, is online. Here is a small selection.

A pair of George III neo-classical sauce tureens and covers, London 1798, mark of Paul Storr (3,000-5,000).  UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER.

A 19th century Chinese carved cinnabar box and cover (500-800)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 300 AT HAMMER.

A William and Mary style walnut and seaweed marquetry secretaire chest on chest (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,800 AT HAMMER.

A pair of Italian pietre dure plaques by Giovanni Montelatici, Florence (1864-1930) (2,000-3,000).  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

A Victorian brass framed square lantern (300-400). UPDATE: THIS MADE 280 AT HAMMER.

SAMUEL SPODE (fl.1825-1858) A Gentleman with a Horse and Three Dogs (3,000-4,000).SAMUEL SPODE (fl.1825-1858) A Gentleman with a Horse and Three Dogs (3,000-4,000).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 2,600 AT HAMMER.

The magnificent oval diamond at Sotheby’s, Hong Kong. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $30.6 MILLION US.

The largest D colour flawless type IIa diamond ever to appear at auction comes up at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on October 7.  The 118.28 carat stone is the largest oval shaped internally flawless diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.  Only four other white diamonds of this quality of over 100 carats have ever been sold at auction.  All were offered in Geneva salesrooms.  The fact that this one is being sold in Asia is testament to the importance of Hong Kong as an international jewellery auction centre.

Discovered in 2011 from the deep mines of Southern Africa the 299 carat rough of this stone is one of the largest found in recent years.  The resulting stone is estimated at US$28-35 million which is in excess of the current highest price ever paid for any white diamond at auction.

UPDATE: IT MADE $30.6 MILLION US.  This is a world record for any white diamond at auction.

The pocket sized 1678 arithmetical machine. (Click on image to enlarge).

A precursor to the computer, one of the earliest surviving pocket calculators, comes up at Christie’s bi-annual sale of Travel, Science and Natural History in South Kensington, London on October 10.  Made around 1678 by watchmaker Rene Grillet de Roven it is one of the earliest mechanical calculating devices known to exist and the first portable device.  Only three other known examples of this design survive.  It is estimated to make £70,000-100,000.