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Rare Irish delftware shell pickle stand or epergne, circa 1760. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £4,480
This very rare Irish delftware shell pickle stand or epergne comes up at Bonhams in London on April 15. Made around 1760, probably in Dublin, it is from the collection of the late antiquarian Graham Slater. With three tiers formed of seven upturned scallop shells lot 155 is estimated at £1,200-£1,800 (€1,400-€2,100).
The Trinity by Sean Keating. UPDATE: THIS MADE €13,000 AT HAMMER
There is no shortage of spectacular vernacular at the next James Adam timed online auction which draws to a close from 11 am on April 16. The title of the auction – Irish Vernacular – might suggest ordinary common or garden lots but nothing could be further from the truth.
The sale is a celebration of very fine Irish skill and creativity down through the centuries. The artist Sean Keating gives us a different take on a well worn subject. In The Trinity – at €10,000-€15,000 the most expensively estimated lot – the traditional figures have been substituted with three ordinary people from the west of Ireland. The arched canvas is reminiscent of traditional altar pieces but the figure in the centre, the position most often associated with Christ, is a woman in a tartan shawl standing in front of a donkey and cart.
18th century Irish limestone chimneypiece from Tipperary. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600 AT HAMMER
Among other leading lots are a c1750 Irish silver dish ring made in Dublin but lacking a maker’s mark, an 18th century Irish limestone chimney piece from Tipperary with its original carved sandstone inset, a Roscommon grey limestone chimney piece with moulded top, a c1940 Celtic Revival silver tray, an 18th carat gold antique Claddagh ring, a 19th century painted pine settle bench and an Irish naturalistic log bucket.
Two large Carrigaline Pottery jugs UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
Irish Vernacular covers as multitude, from a cased diorama of a three masted schooner in full sail on choppy seas, a painted timber model of a currach and another of a Galway Hooker to three Irish limestone specimens on stands, a cast iron weather vane with a silhouette of a hunter and his hound in pursuit of a rabbit, a milking stool, a carved duck decoy, wrought iron gates and a Tara brooch.
The auction offers opportunities to pick up something for a song that with just a little imagination could be turned into a conversation piece or converted to a more modern decorative use. An Irish Victorian green painted footbath, stamped Maguire & Catchell, Dublin, is estimated at €100-€200, a limestone duck trough at €300-€400, a timber butter paddle and mould at €50-€100 and a black painted cast iron pot at €80-€120.
There is a selection of pine and painted pine cupboards, an oak linen press, an Irish oak cradle, an oak wall cabinet, wash stands, kitchen tables and desks. chairs, stools, boxes and wall hangers. An Irish lustre ware ceramic bowl, pottery jugs from Arklow and Carrigaline, mugs and hot water jugs will stimulate collectors with an eye to nostalgia.
A small selection of bygone advertising material includes an Admiral brand famous rum sign by John Daly and Co., Cork, a Perry’s Ale mirror and a Jacob’s Cream Crackers sign. There is art by Markey Robinson, Maurice MacGonigal, Rowland Hill, Erskine Nicol among a total of 260 lots.
An Admiral brand advertising sign by John Daly and Co. Cork. UPDATE: THIS MADE 110 AT HAMMER
Art Nouveau style birdbath. UPDATE: THIS MADE 220 AT HAMMER
Opportunities to spring into outdoor action abound at the annual garden sale by R.J. Keighery in Waterford on April 14. Cast iron garden seats in gothic and other styles, glazed and cast iron urns, stone troughs, a pair of large terracotta lions, staddle stones or mushrooms, even some anvils to forge a nod to the past with potential to find a hitherto unforeseen new use in some sunny or shady spot.
In the 21st century gardens are for living in and this sale offers oodles of decor to enhance suburban spaces and balconies of any size among more than 700 lots. Gothic style mirrors could work in many spaces and a magnificent pair of forged black powder coated and galvanised entrance gates will undoubtedly be just the ticket for someone. There ought to be demand for some salvaged forged field gates too. The sale, with its selection of old cast iron water pumps, birdbaths, lanterns and blue porcelain conservatory seats, is on view today and tomorrow and the catalogue is online.
A PAINTED TIMBER MODEL OF A GALWAY HOOKER. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,300 AT HAMMER
This painted timber model of a Galway hooker is at Adams timed online Irish Vernacular sale on April 16. A total of 260 lots will come under the hammer, including Irish silver, oak and pine furniture, lustre ware, wrought iron gates and duck decoys. The catalogue is online and the auction will be on view from April 12.
Juliens will hold the largest ever auction of Princess Diana’s wardrobe in Beverly Hills on June 26. More than 200 lots will come under the hammer. A week before the collection goes live, Princess Diana items will be on exhibition in Newbridge, Ireland at The Museum of Style Icons (MOSI) from mid May until mid June 2025. The auction will feature pieces from British royal history, including couture garments from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and historic items belonging to Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, and royal treasures dating as far back as the 19th century. In 2023 one of Diana’s gowns sold for $1.14 million at Julien’s and in 2024 a pair of her shoes achieved $390,000 at auction.
The revolver that fired the first shot of The Rising. UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,500 AT HAMMER
On March 21 1916, a day after Capt. Peadar Bracken fired a pinfire revolver during an attack by the RIC following a meeting of Irish Volunteers in Tullamore, Padraig Pearse said: ‘the first blood has been spilled and the first blow struck in defence of the Volunteers right to carry arms’.
Just over one month later on April 24 the Rising began. Though no one realised it at the time that shot heralded the beginning of the end of the British Empire. The gun from which it was fired is at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector online auction which ends from 2 pm on April 6. Lot 144 is estimated at €8,000-€10,000.
Articles of Agreement from 1921 signed by Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins. UPDATE: THIS MADE 68,000 AT HAMMER
A 1921 agreement to postpone the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in order to avoid a split – signed by Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins, Austin Stack and Arthur Griffith – is another real rarity (€70,000-€90,000). An archive of 12 cans of restored 1916-1923 films of The Rising, The War of Independence and the Civil War is the most expensive lot (€80,000-€100,000). There are about four hours of films.
The market for collectibles is hot and it is predicted to grow. Objects that are collectible come and go but historic and verified rarities like will always be sought after. The timed online sale of 482 lots includes historical artefacts, documents, photographs, books, militaria, medals, weapons, advertising, sport, coins and banknotes. The timeline ranges from 5000 BC (a very large piece of bog oak) to gold coins issued in the year 2000.
There is a letter from Liam Lynch to his godmother in Co. Limerick; the archive of an Irish soldier who fought for Franco in the Spanish Civil War; the archive of a British army officer who served in the Auxiliary Division of the RIC and material from The Northern Ireland Troubles including prisoner art, weapons, rubber bullets and a telephone from Long Kesh.
A 1965 US tour book signed by all four Beatles
A 1965 US Tour Book signed by all four Beatles is estimated at 4,000-€6,000 and the sale includes five letters written by W B Yeats and his father John Yeats (€1,500-€2,000) and a signed first US edition of The Wind Among the Reeds (€1,200-€1,500). A 1775 document relates to Elvis Presley’s Irish ancestor William Presley of Counties Wicklow and Carlow who later emigrated to America (€1,000-€1,500). Collectible posters include an early 20th century Great Southern Railways poster featuring Connemara along with advertising material from Aer Lingus, CIE and Guinness.
An early 20th century Great Southern Railways poster featuring Connemara. UPDATE: THIS MADE 950 AT HAMMER
The collection of Liam Rapple, former president of Bohemians AFC and FAI honorary secretary includes the jersey worn by Stanley Matthews in an England v Ireland match, other jerseys from the 1940’s and ’50’s and an array of football programmes. A ticket to the infamous Bloody Sunday match between Tipperary and Dublin at Croke Park in November 1920 is estimated at €6,000-€8,000.
There is a good selection of banknotes including Ploughman notes and with gold in demand right now there will be much interest in gold coins including Krugerrand, Sovereigns and US dollars. Viewing continues today at Whyte’s on Molesworth St. in Dublin and the catalogue is online.
Ghost Ship by Dorothy Cross. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
There is a sense in which a highly original fin-de-siecle work by the Cork artist Dorothy Cross bookends the radical creativity that characterised the 20th century. A luminescent pigment print of a ghost ship by the artist at Adams Mid Century Modern timed online auctions which runs until April 8 will jog many memories.
In 1999 IMMA ran an open submission for an artwork to be located non-permanently in the Dublin area. Cross borrowed the decommissioned lightship which used to mark Daunt Rock off Cork Harbour, painted it in phosphorous paint and moored in Dublin Bay where it glowed and faded eerily each night for months. The print edition at Adams, number 22 out of 75, is estimated at €3,000-5,000.
Art by Fernand Leger, Felim Egan, Suzanne Valadon, Guggi, Stephen McKenna, A.R. Penck and Sean Scully with furniture by Eileen Gray, Charles and Ray Eames, Johannes Anderson and Edmondo Palutari can be found among the leading lots at the auction.
A pair of non conformist chairs by Eileen Gray UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
FERNAND LÉGER (1881-1955) – Les Papillons (1944). UPDATE: THIS MADE 26,000 AT HAMMER
Les Papillons by Fernand Leger is the leading lot at Adams Mid-Century Modern sale on April 8. Viewing for the auction of 241 lots gets underway in Dublin today and continues for the next four days. Among the top lots there is art by Guggi, Stephen McKenna, Suzanne Valadon, Albert Irvin, Felim Egan, A R Penck, Richard Gorman and Sean Scully. There is furniture by Eileen Gray, Charles and Ray Eames, Johannes Anderson, Edmondo Palutari and Niels Otto Moller. Les Papillons is estimated at €20,000-€30,000 and the catalogue is online.
UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER
This 1775 document from Whyte’s eclectic collector timed online auction which runs until April 6 relates to Elvis Presley’s Irish ancestor. The charge sheet details how William Presley was attacked in a dispute over land as follows:
County Carlow Jury charge sheet of William Presley of Stradnakelly in the County of Wicklow, farmer. ‘The Jurors for our Lord the King, upon their Oath, that Andrew Morris of Mullannashea, Co. Wicklow, Francis Morris of Whiterock, Wicklow Samuel Morris of Cross, Thomas Morris late of Hacketstown, Co Carlow, William Wilson, Thomas Matthers, yeomen, with many other evil disposed Persons and Disturbers of the Peace whose names are ignorant of,
On seventeenth day of August in the fifteenth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the Grace of God of Great-Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, with Force and Arms that is to say with Swords, Sticks at Hacketstown in the said Co Carlow did riotously, routously and unlawfully assemble and associate themselves together, and the said Persons being then and there so riotously, routously and unlawfully assembled and associated upon one William Presley, a True and faithfully subject of the King the peace of God and of the said Lord the King ..they did beat wound and ill-treat where his life was greatly despaired of.. Contrary to the peace of our said Lord the King his Crown and Dignity’ .
This is a rare piece of evidence about Elvis Presley’s claim to Irish ancestry. William Presley left Hacketstown and emigrated to the United States. Lot 459 is estimated at €1,000-€1,500.
The catalogue with nearly 500 lots is online. Viewing gets underway today at Whyte’s at Molesworth St. in Dublin. The auction will draw to a close from 2 pm on April 6.
A selection of lots on offer including an early 19th century sideboard at Aidan Foley’s sale in Doneraile.
Art by Mark O’Neill, Markey Robinson, Jack B Yeats and Banksy is included in Aidan Foley’s two day online auction on March 31 and April 1 at 6 pm on each day. Now on view in Doneraile the auction will include contents from the Convent of Mercy in Charleville. Among the highlights is a longcase clock by Egans of Cork, a ten foot long hunt table, a 19th century serving table, an early 19th century sideboard, a Victorian dining table and a Belfast clock. There is garden furniture and collectibles including Oriental rugs, Waterford Crystal, a Killarney wood workbox and porcelain.
