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John Burke Sculpture Maquette of the sculpture at the Wilton Roundabout in Cork 66cm high. (2,500-3,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,700 AT HAMMER.

Irish and provincial silver is a feature of the Woodwards sale in Cork  on Wednesday, November 9 at 6 p.m.  The sale of 274 lots also features art and porcelain.  Here is a small selection:

A George III Irish silver oval shaped sauceboat 6.5ozs. (500-700). UPDATE: THIS MADE 300 AT HAMMER.

A George IV Cork silver swing handled sugar basket of helmet shape by William Teulon, Cork, c1790 (2,000-2,500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,900 AT HAMMER.

Edward VII silver fruit basket London 1906. 31ozs. (2,500-3,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,300

A George III silver circular sugar bowl by John Hillary, Cork, c.1780. 6ozs. (1,700-2,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200

A George III Irish provincial silver soup ladle with tapering handle, bottom marked with the mark of William Ward of Limerick with Dublin hallmarks for 1786. (800-1,000).

The Lotus and Bat Jar and Cover. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: This was unsold.

A Qing Dynasty doucai ‘Lotus and Bats’ jar will feature at Sotheby’s sale of fine Chinese Ceramics and works of art in London on November 9. The 18th century jar bears the seal mark of Emperor Qianlong.  It has spent 30 years on the diningroom floor of a house in Shropshire, its value unknown.    The discovery is made even more exceptional by its intact cover.

The jar bears the auspicious Chinese Lotus and Bats motif, expertly painted in doucai or dovetailing colours technique applied to a small group of the highest quality porcelains.  This results in an elegant effect of bright colours softly blending into the outlines, of which this jar is a fine example.  The estimate for the piece is £300,000-500,000.

See post on antiquesandartireland.com for October 17.

The photo of Oscar Wilde for sale at Bonhams. (Click on image to enlarge).

THIS inscribed large format photograph of Oscar Wilde is at Bonhams  Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Historical Photographs sale in London on November 22.  It is inscribed: ‘Arthur Fish/from his friend/Oscar Wilde/90’.  Fish was Wilde’s assistant when he edited ‘The Woman’s World’ from November 1887 to October 1889.

When Wilde could not be bothered to write the ‘Literary and Other Notes’ column he would leave Fish to fill in for him. The two men remained in touch after Wilde left the magazine and the photograph may well have been a present to mark Fish’s forthcoming wedding. Wilde wrote to him on August 8, 1890 saying that he would like to see him before his marriage and arranging for Fish to collect the photograph in person.

The photograph was owned by Hesketh Pearson whose classic biography, ‘The Life of Oscar Wilde’, was for many years the standard work on the playwright.  It is estimated at £4,000-6,000.

Paul McCartney's August 1960 letter. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £34,850 TO AN ANONYMOUS TELEPHONE BIDDER.

A letter handwritten  by Paul McCartney inviting an unknown drummer to audition for The Beatles is to be sold at Christie’s Rock and Memorabilia auction in South Kensington, London on November 15. Dated August 12, 1960 it was discovered by an anonymous collector inside a book at a car boot sale in Bootle, Liverpool. This is one of the earliest occasions in which the band referred to themselves as The Beatles.

On August 15, 1960 The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Stuart Sutcliffe, along with drummer Pete Best) travelled to Hamburg for almost two months. McCartney’s response to an advert in the Liverpool Echo was written four days after John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe had verbally committed themselves to travel to Hamburg on August 15 as a five-piece band.  It is not known if there was a response. There was no alternative but for Pete Best to travel with them to Hamburg. Best was dismissed from the band two years later, and replaced by Ringo Starr.  The letter is expected to make £7,000 to £9,000.

Bed Peace from John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969. (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS WAS THE TOP LOT IN THE SALE. IT MADE £97,250.

Another lot is a John Lennon placard reading BED PEACE from the historic Montreal Bed-In for Peace, 1969. The Montreal ‘Bed-In for Peace’ was held two months after John and Yoko’s honeymoon Bed-In at the Amsterdam Hilton, and lasted for seven days between May 26 and June 2, 1969. Throughout the week the couple sat up in bed in their nightclothes and opened their doors to the worlds’ media, speaking to journalists and politicians. Most notably the Lennon’s, along with an enthusiastic congregation of friends and supporters, recorded the anthem ‘Give Peace a Chance’ during their stay. The placard is estimated at £80,000-100,000.

UPDATE: THE sale brought in a total of a total of £478,738