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    SPECTACULAR DUBLIN INTERIOR TO BE AUCTIONED OFF BY ADAMS

    Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

    PAIR OF LOUIS XVI GILTWOOD FRAMED MARQUISE ARMCHAIRS, by JEAN BAPTISTE III LELARGE (1743-1802) AT ADAMS. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD.

    Precious objects from a spectacular interior at one of the most graceful squares in Ireland come under the hammer at Adams on June 21.  The contents of 24 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin will be on view in situ over the preceding three days.

    Kevin and Rose Kelly, synonymous with glossy publications such as World of Interiors and Image, are downsizing.  They are disposing of contents amassed over 40 years of collecting.  The catalogue for the 590 lot sale is on-line.
    The collection draws together paintings from the Irish, English and Dutch Schools, Fine English and French furniture, fine silver, china, objets d’art and a wide variety of decorative pieces. There is a small couture section including Dior and Chanel designer-wear.

    A LOUIS XV GILTWOOD CANAPÉ, BY E.T. NAUROY AT ADAMS. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE) UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,500.

    Furniture highlights include a magnificent pair of sumptuously upholstered Louis XV giltwood Marquise armchairs made by Jean Baptiste Lelarge (1743-1802). They are estimated at 40,000 plus. The Kellys purchased these chairs from Bond Street dealers, Partridge. A Louis XV ormolu mounted kingwood and tulipwood bureau plat is signed by Nicolas Petit. Purchased from Monaco dealers Sapjo it is estimated at €30,000/50,000. A Louis XV giltwood framed canapé by ebeniste E.T.Nauroy, also from Partridge, is estimated at €8,000/12,000.
    There are English, Irish and French side-tables, bookcases, a dining table and chairs, mirrors, couches, soft furnishings, garden furniture and beds complete with Lyon silk and silk damask bedspreads and canopies.
    There are 17th and 18th Century portraits include two by Dutch artist Cornelius Johnson (1593-1661) both dated c.1640 and estimated at €20,000+ each. A massive portrait by Godfrey Kneller of a young lady, believed to be the artist’s daughter, Agnes, is estimated at €25,000 +.  There is a family group believed to be of Gerrit Jacob Witszoon, Burgomaster of Delft with his wife and daughter probably painted by Michiel van Mierevelt in the early years of the 17th Century. Irish art includes watercolour sketches by Maurice MacGonigal, two oils by Grace Henry and still lifes by Nicolo Caracciolo RHA and Martin Mooney.

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    TITANIC LAUNCHED IN BELFAST 100 YEARS AGO TODAY

    Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
    TITANIC was launched in Belfast on May 31, 1911 – 100 years ago today.  To mark the centenary artefacts recovered from the wreck went on display for the first time in Northern Ireland. Seven of the items – which will be displayed as part of TITANICa: The Exhibition at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum – are on show for the first time anywhere in the world.

    This is one of several first-class glass serving dishes. Reminiscent of a ribbed shell, this candy or condiment dish has a modern appeal. The White Star Line logo is etched into the glass at the apex of the dish. ©1987-2004 RMS Titanic, Inc. (click to enlarge)

    This demitasse cup decorated with one of Spode’s famous cobalt blue designs is thought to have been used in the exclusive Café Parisien, adjacent to the à la carte Restaurant. The gold Greek key pattern within a cobalt field at the rim provides a striking pattern. ©1987-2004 RMS Titanic, Inc.

    This is one of several hand mirrors produced by “Royale Ivoire France.” The handle and backing are made of an early form of plastic created as a faux ivory which allowed for mass production. ©1987-2004 RMS Titanic, Inc.

    THE exhibition features 35 items from the wreck including a part of the hull structure, a porthole, silverware, glassware and personal belongings. They are part of a loan from US-based RMS Titanic, Inc a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. and the Salvor in Possession of the wreck site.   Premier Exhibitions has conducted seven research expeditions to Titanic recovering more than 5,500 artefacts. In summer 2010 the company completed its eighth dive to collect scientific data and visuals on Titanic’s condition.
    These artefacts will join some 500 objects from the Folk & Transport Museum’s own collections. A magnificent 20ft long plan capturing last minute design changes to Titanic will be going on show for the first time. The plan has a significance which could never have been foreseen by the draughtsmen working at the Harland & Wolff shipyard a century ago. Meticulously drawn and annotated, it offers a unique opportunity to glimpse something of the world in which Titanic was built and the people who built and sailed on her.
    Part of the exhibition at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum enables the visitor to step back in time to uncover life in Belfast 100 years ago. Daily routines and  activities from the shipyard worker’s home, to the carpenters workshop, to Kelly’s Coal Yard at Belfast Lough are re-created.  The exhibition runs until August.
    The plan of the Titanic used in the inquiry into the sinking of the ship in 1912 sold for £220,000 at Devizes-based Henry Aldridge & Son in England last week. Commissioned by the British Board of Trade it had been estimated at £100,000-150,000.  The auctioneer said the sale aroused interest from around the world.

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    U.S. BEATLEMANIA RE-DISCOVERED

    Thursday, May 26th, 2011
    Unpublished and never-before-seen photographs of the Beatles’ first visits to America in 1964 are to be sold at Christie’s in New York next July 20.  The Beatles Illuminated: The Discovered Works of Mike Mitchell comprises 50 lots of black and white shots.  They were taken by photographer Mike Mitchell when he was just 18 years old.  Filed away for almost 50 years the complete rediscovered collection is expected to realize in the region of $100,000.
    On February 11, 1964, just two days after their American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles performed their first US concert at the Washington Coliseum. The DC native shot dozens of intimate photographs. Mitchell had exceptional access to the events including their arrival at Union Station, the press conference preceding the performance and unrestricted, stage-front access for  historic Coliseum concert. He took more photographs when they performed their first US concert tour at the Baltimore Civic Center on September 13, 1964.
    The collection will be exhibited at Christie’s, South Kensington, London on June 11-12, at Grosvenor House Hotel in London from June 17-22 and at Christie’s in New York from July 11-20.  (Images courtesy of CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2010 – click on any image to enlarge)
    UPDATE:   THE collection sold for over $360,000 in an auction that had been expected to bring in around $100,000.  Prices ranged from $813 to $68,500.  All lots were sold.

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    DIARY OF IRISH VICTORIAN SOCIETY FIGURE AT BONHAMS

    Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
    The hand written diary of Irish Victorian society figure Augusta FitzPatrick, later Lady Castletown, will be offered at Bonhams Printed Books and Manuscripts sale in London on June 7.

    The title page of the diary of Augusta, Lady Castletown. UPDATE: IT MADE £1,320

    A clergyman’s daughter she married John Fitzpatrick, the illegitimate son of the 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory.  He was to become 1st Baron Castletown of Upper Ossory and was Liberal MP for Queen’s County (now County Laois).

    At the time the diary opens in 1858 she was at the centre of a scandal about her alleged affair with the well-known preacher F. W. Robertson.

    She had a long affair with the composer Angelo Mariani whose outpourings she translated and copied into her diary. A typical specimen of Mariani’s devotion reads, “”My brain was on fire & people stopped me in the Corso to ask what was the matter, for the first time in my life I broke down at the Opera the other night”.

    She was a friend of the American novelist Washington Irving and marks his death in November 1859 in her diary with sorrow.  There is a portrait of Augusta, Lady Castletown by G F Watts at the Tate Gallery London.  Her diary is estimated at £600-800.

    UPDATE: This was sold for £1,320.

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    HISTORIC AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT BY JANE AUSTEN AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, May 23rd, 2011

    JANE AUSTEN'S MANUSCRIPT OF ‘THE WATSONS’ (estimate £200,000-300,000). (click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: IT MADE £993,250, triple the pre-sale estimate.

    The historic autograph manuscript of Jane Austen’s unpublished novel ‘The Watsons’ – the only major Austen manuscript remaining in private hands – is due up at Sotheby’s sale of English Literature and History in London on July 14.

    The heavily corrected draft, the most important Jane Austen item to come to the market in over 20 years, was probably written in 1804. It is the earliest surviving manuscript for a novel by Jane Austen. The work remains incomplete.  None of the manuscripts of her completed novels survive, with the exception of two draft chapters of ‘Persuasion’ (at the British Library), Austen’s juvenile work ‘Lady Susan’ (at the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York) and the fragment ‘Sanditon’ (at King’s College, Cambridge), the only other autograph novel manuscript of comparable length.
    ‘The Watsons’ centres on a family of four sisters – the daughters of a widowed clergyman. Its heroine is Emma, the youngest, who has been brought up by a wealthy aunt. When her aunt contracts a foolish second marriage, Emma is obliged to return to her father’s house and endure the crude husband-hunting of her two twenty-something sisters. She has, however, a close relationship with her eldest and most responsible sister Elizabeth. ‘The Watsons’ contains many of Austen’s perennial themes and her genius for shrewd social observation:
    Emma Watson to Lord Osborne: “Your Lordship thinks we always have our own way. That is a point on which ladies and gentlemen have long disagreed. But without pretending to decide it, I may say that there are some circumstances which even women cannot control. Female economy will do a great deal my Lord, but it cannot turn a small income into a large one.”
    The novel is considered to be around a quarter completed. The manuscript, comprising 68 hand-trimmed pages, is estimated at £200,000-300.000. Well known to scholars, it was her  only literary composition between the completion of ‘Northanger Abbey’ in 1799 and the commencement of ‘Mansfield Park’ in 1811.

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    A Parisian Café by Ilya Repin and Fabergé at Christie’s

    Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
    A Parisian Café by Ilya Repin will lead Christie’s Russian sale on June 6 in London. Painted in 1875, the work depicts a lively French café scene and represents a daring deviation from Repin’s celebrated Russian subjects. The picture was exhibited at the 1875 Parisian salon and is extensively recorded in the literature on the artist. It was acquired in 1916 by the present owner’s grandfather, who knew Repin.  On the market for the first time in almost a century it is estimated at £3-5 million.
    The afternoon session of the sale is devoted to Russian works of art.  It features more than 40 works by Fabergé, many with Russian Imperial provenance. Leading the selection is a three-colour gold and guilloché enamel Imperial presentation snuff-box by Fabergé (estimate £300,000-500,000).  This was given to Charles Robert Carrington in 1894 to commemorate his attendance at the funeral of Emperor Alexander III and the wedding of Emperor Nicholas II.
    UPDATE: Christie’s achieved the highest price for a painting ever sold in a Russian sale by an international auction house with Repin’s A Parisian Café . The picture session was 92% sold by value. Fabergé was sold 96% by value.  Christie’s say their strategy continues to prioritise quality over quantity; “with this in mind we look forward to our next sale in November.”

    A Parisian Café by Ilya Repin. UPDATE: THIS WAS SOLD FOR £4.5 MILLION, A NEW WORLD RECORD FOR THE ARTIST.

    Imperial presentation snuff-box by Fabergé. UPDATE: THIS WAS ACQUIRED BY AN AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTOR FOR £385,250.

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    A HAMPER FOR A QUEEN, A FOUNTAIN IN A MARKET

    Saturday, May 21st, 2011

    The cast iron three section fountain with leaf decorated tiers, acanthus leaf decoration, on circular base (3,000 - 5,000) at Woodwards. (click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    WHEN Queen Elizabeth visited Cork on May 20 she was presented with a hamper by the traders of the city’s English Market.  The presentation took place at the Fountain in the market.  One of the more unusual lots at Woodwards sale in Cork on May 25 is a Victorian cast iron fountain similar to the one in the market.
    It is almost certainly from the ironworks of W.R. Harris of Great Georges St. (now Washington St.) in Cork.  Their plate adorns the decorative Arts and Crafts Movement inspired fountain which has been a focal point in Cork since the 1860’s.
    The three tier fountain at Woodwards came from a grand house in North Cork.  With ornate cast acanthus leaves it is smaller than but similar to the fountain in the market which was originally the main source of water for traders.
    It is estimated at 2,000-3,000.  The Woodwards sale is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25.

    This Georgian breakfront bookcase made 3,300 at Woodwards.

    A pair of Georgian mahogany knife boxes is estimated at 200-400 at Woodwards. UPDATE: These sold for 280

    Set of eight Cork 11-bar chairs at Woodwards. The estimate is 3,000-6,000. (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,900

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    ANTIQUE AND MODERN JEWELLERY AT O’REILLY’S, DUBLIN

    Thursday, May 19th, 2011
    Antique and modern jewellery comes up at O’Reilly’s sale at Francis St., Dublin on May 25.  There are diamond solitaires, Art Deco diamond target rings, a large amethyst and diamond pendant, retro gold jewellery, a sapphire and diamond cluster pendant, a diamond necklace, bracelets and earrings.
    The 415 lot sale features some antique silver as well as paintings and collectables.
    UPDATE: This was a good sale, aided by strong global prices for gold and silver.  In the current market those with money to spend expect exceptional value.  The focus is on what an individual piece is worth.
    An antique three stone diamond ring made 12,800,  a 2.40 carat diamond solitaire ring sold for 12,600, a two carat oval diamond solitaire made  9,200, a diamond line bracelet sold for 6,000 as did a 1.09 carat diamond solitaire and an emerald and diamond line bracelet made 4,800.

    A PAIR OF OPAL AND DIAMOND CLUSTER EARRINGS (2,800-3,200). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 3,000

    AN ANTIQUE DIAMOND AND BLUE ENAMEL CLUSTER RING, set to the centre with a diamond monogramme and crown, (3,000-4,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,900

    AN EDWARDIAN DIAMOND TARGET RING, C. 1910 (14,000-15,000). Click to enlarge. UPDATE: This changed hands after the auction for 13,900

    AN EDWARDIAN DIAMOND PLAQUE BROOCH (4,500-5,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: This made 4,500

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    TIARA MAKES HIGHEST AUCTION PRICE EVER FOR A PIECE OF EMERALD JEWELLERY

    Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

    A detail of the emerald tiara. (Click on image to enlarge)

    The highest price ever achieved for a tiara at auction was made at Sotheby’s in Geneva on May 17.  The most important emerald and diamond tiara to have appeared at auction in over 30 years sold for a $2.7 million over the top estimate price of  CHF 11,282,500/ $12,736,927.  This also represented an auction record for a piece of emerald jewellery.

    Six bidders competed for the magnificent and extremely rare emerald and diamond tiara, circa 1900, which was formerly in the Collection of Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck.  It had been estimated at $5-$10 million).

    The sale total for the entire sale of Magnificent and Noble Jewels was CHF 78,944,900/ $89,121,687 (est. CHF 41.9 – 69 million / $ 47.3 – 77.9 million).

    See antiquesandartireland.com posts for April 26 and March 25.

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    A FEW HUNDRED EURO IN DUBLIN, 170,000 AT SHEPPARDS

    Friday, May 13th, 2011

    This pair of turquoise ground famille rose bottle vases made a hammer price of 170,000 at Sheppards. (click on image to enlarge)

    A pair of Chinese porcelain vases, bought for a few hundred euro in an antique shop in Dublin ten years ago, sold for a hammer price of 170,000 at Sheppards in Durrow on May 12.  They were chased by three bidders on the telephone and one in the room.  The winning bid came from a Chinese client in London acting as agent for a client in mainland China.
    The hammer price of 170,000 for the pair of turquoise ground famille rose bottle vases becomes 200,855 when fees are added.  This was an Irish record for Chinese porcelain. The 24 cms high vases were described in the catalogue as having Daoguang iron-red six-character seal marks possibly republican.  The estimate had been 8,000-12,000.  The seller, who remained anonymous, said he was “super-excited”.
    See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for May 12, May 1 and April 28.

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