HANDMADE FLOOR RUG, by V’SOSKE JOYCE, GALWAY. UPDATE: THIS MADE 900 AT HAMMER
A large handmade floor rug by V’Soske Joyce, Galway from Cabinet Pinto, Paris is at de Veres summer online auction of more than 150 lots of art and design which runs until July 24. V’Soske Carpets was established over 70 years ago in Michigan, by a firm of artisans, producing beautiful high quality handmade carpets and tapestries to special order. Plans to expand into the European market were realised when Vesta V’Soske had a chance encounter with two local entrepreneurs in Oughterard, Co. Galway. A collaboration with James Joyce and Burke Monaghan resulted in a factory in the name of V’Soske Joyce being established in Oughterard. Here a team of skilled craftsmen practising the renowned V’Soske hand tufting technique has been operating ever since.
The company renamed the Dixon Carpet Company, when it was bought by Michael Dixon in 1979, only uses 100% pure new wool yarns which are chosen and dyed specially for each design. All dyeing of the wool is carried out by the firm itself providing the control that makes possible the creation of more than four thousand shades of colour. The company has provided rugs and carpets to many royal families and governments worldwide as well as many luxury hotels, including the Dorchester, the Ritz Paris and the Shelbourne in Dublin. This rug is estimated at €800-€1,200.
A Palitoy Star Wars vinyl cape made a hammer price of €18,500 over an estimate of €8,000-€12,000 at Sheppards in Durrow today. The vintage original carded figure with vinyl cape and laser gun measures two and a quarter inches. It was part of a collection of Star Wars Palitoy toys on offer in the three day auction of contents from St. Austins, Gorey, Co. Wexford taking place in Durrow. Palitoy was a British toy manufacturer which made Star Wars action figures and vehicles on the release of the original trilogy, Star Wars in 1978, The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983 along with The Power of the Force in 1985. The company also made Action Man and Care Bears but the Star Wars franchise became Palitoy’s biggest seller and original Star Wars figures are highly collectible nowadays. A Palitoy Star Wars Jawa with a cloth cape made €2,800 at hammer at Sheppards today. Other Palitoy Star Wars lots made hammer prices from €520 to €950. The auction of contents from St. Austins continues at Sheppards tomorrow.
19th century gilt framed overmantle UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A contents auction is always a draw so it would be wise to anticipate plenty of bidders and buyers to see treasures aplenty at elegant 18th century St. Austin’s, Coolgreaney, Co. Wexford.
More than 1,390 lots from this beautifully restored and modernised two storey over basement period home dating to 1763 will come under the hammer at Sheppards in Durrow on July 16, 17 and 18. There will be viewings at the house, located between Gorey and Arklow, today, tomorrow and next Monday from 10 am to 5 pm on each day.
A pair of 18th century console tables UPDATE: THESE MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
Art and furniture highlights include Achill Island by Grace Henry last sold at Sotheby’s in 2007 (€8,000-€14,000), On the Liffey and The Monastery Wall by Letitia M Hamilton and Gathering Turf by James Humbert Craig (all €5,000-€8,000), a pair of 18th century parcel gilt console tables (€5,000-€8,000), a 19th century large carved giltwood overmantle mirror and an 18th century Dublin longcase clock by William Edwards (both €3,000-€5,000), a c1820 French Restoration ormolu and bronze mantle clock (€1,500-€2,500) and a large Cork Regency brass fender (€1,400-€1,800).
The property which has been sold was home for over 30 years to Alan and Aine Deacon, who had lived in Hong Kong for some time. This is reflected in an eclectic collection of Irish, European and Oriental art and furniture as well as early Irish cartography and collectibles. Much of the furniture, of which there is lots, was acquired from the sale of the original contents when St. Austin’s was home to Major and Mrs. H M E Grogan.
Chinese Famille Jaune table lamp UPDATE: THIS MADE 360 AT HAMMER
Included is a collection of Bordeaux wines, rare whiskeys, kitchenalia, contents of the stables, out offices, garden furniture and statuary. There are some rare edition Snaffles prints (€6,000-€8,000) and the most expensively estimated lot is a white gold Art Deco target ring with sapphires and a three carat diamond (€25,000-€35,000). A Dun Emer Donegal Phoenix carpet, a Mughal hand woven carpet, a Sarouk Tree of Life Carpet and a Persian Kirman carpet are all estimated at €5,000-€8,000.
The garden selection includes urns, furniture, planters, lighting and ornaments. Irish vernacular lots include a settle bed, chairs, stools and some pewter and metal tankards. There are two Japanese silk embroidered wedding kimonos (€100-€150 each), a good selection of various sorts of lighting, 33 lots of wines and spirits, two vintage telephones, 37 lots of arms and armour and a selection of antique boxes. Sales, broken into five sessions for the convenience of bidders, get underway in Durrow and online at 10 am on Tuesday.
One of a pair of large neo-classical garden urns UPDATE: THESE MADE 3,400 AT HAMMER
A pair of London silver waiters dated 1771 UPDATE: THESE MADE 500 AT HAMMER
Much interest at Aidan Foley’s sale in Kilcolgan next week will centre around a number of lots consigned from the estate of the late Lady Trina Stanhope of Adare. The daughter of the 11th Earl of Harrington and Ann Chute died unexpectedly in March. There is a small selection of silver headed by a pair of London silver waiters from 1771 (€800-€1,200), paintings by George Gillespie and Maurice Wilks, equestrian art, collectibles and garden implements from the collection of a keen gardener who was based at Castleroberts, Adare.
There is value to be had in furniture at this auction but in the current climate of closures there must be a question mark over whether a stand alone restaurant counter will attract a whole lot of competitive bidding. A fully fitted rather stylish serving counter – lot 1000 out of a total of 1490 – is estimated at €2,000-€4,000. The online antiques and interiors auction takes place on July 15, 16 and 17 from 5 pm on each day.
Rory Gallagher’s Iconic 1961 Fender Stratocaster No.64351 guitar. Estimate: £700,000 – 1,000,000. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £700,000
THE collection of Rory Gallagher including guitars, amps and accessories will come under the hammer at Bonhams in London next October 17. Considered to be one of the most esteemed guitarists of all time the Irish musician and songwriter Rory Gallagher (1948-1995) was an inspiration to his fans and musicians alike.
The collection is led by Gallagher’s iconic 1961 Fender Stratocaster, arguably the most recognisable Strat in rock history. It will be offered with an estimate of £700,000 – 1,000,000. Rory Gallagher bought the guitar for £100 on credit from the owner of Crowley’s Music Store in Cork, Ireland in 1963.
Speaking of Rory Gallagher’s Stratocaster Sir Brian May commented; “He was one of a very few people at that time, who could make his guitar do anything it seemed, it just seemed to be magic…I remember looking at this battered Stratocaster and thinking “how does that come out of there?”. Brian May has also said that “One of the reasons I do what I do is because of Rory.”
The Rory Gallagher Collection consists of nearly 150 items including an exceptional selection of guitars, amps and accessories from Rory Gallagher’s life and career, all offered directly from the Gallagher family.
Dónal Gallagher, Rory’s brother and former manager, commented: “After nearly thirty years since my brother Rory’s passing, I now believe it’s time for other people to cherish Rory’s ‘orphaned’ 1961 Fender Stratocaster and the rest of his incredible instrument collection. Since 1995, I have always felt that there was a mission to be fulfilled to cement Rory’s legacy and widen the knowledge of his music. So, in what is one of the most difficult and sensitive decisions to reach, I have decided to facilitate the release of his instruments for sale, so that these emblems of his legacy can be enjoyed by others.”
Claire Tole-Moir, Head of Bonhams Popular Culture department, commented:“Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster is one of the world’s most recognisable guitars. It was an enormous part of Rory Gallagher’s life and was with him from the very start of his career right until the end. It could be said that it was on this guitar that he carved out his legacy of being one of the greatest guitarists of all time. It has been treasured by Dónal Gallagher, Rory’s brother and former manager, and the Gallagher family ever since Rory’s passing in 1995. Bonhams is honoured to be entrusted with bringing this iconic Stratocaster to auction and is excited to announce the landmark sale of Rory Gallagher’s extensive collection.”
Redbreast Complete Dream Cask Series UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR £11,160
A selection of seven bottles of exceptional Irish whiskey from the celebrated Redbreast Dream Cask series leads the Finest Whisky and Spirits sale at Bonhams online from July 4-17. Redbreast has stayed true to the Irish pot still whiskey making tradition for more than a century and is considered to be the definitive expression of this quintessential style of Irish whiskey making. Also included in this lot is a luxury whiskey experience, visiting the home of Redbreast in Midleton, Co. Cork, Ireland, including tutored tastings, a personalised bottle of Redbreast, gourmet lunch and a 2-night stay in the 5-star Castlemartyr resort, a 17th-century manor house in East Cork. The Redbreast Dream Cask series is offered with an estimate of £8,000-14,000.
WB Yeats | ‘At the Hawk’s Well’, corrected typescript, and related material on his collaborations with Edmund Dulac. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £38,400
A corrected typescript by W. B. Yeats for At the Hawk’s Well and material related to his collaborations with Edmund Dulac comes up as lot 306 at Sotheby’s timed online sale of Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern in London on July 11. It includes a corrected typescript of At the Hawk’s Well, here entitled ‘The Well of Immortality’, annotated on the title page by Edmund Dulac (“Working Copy with notes by Ezra Pound & myself & corrections by W.B.Y.”), two typed letters signed, to Edmund Dulac, on the performance of At the Hawk’s Well at the Abbey Theatre, praising Dulac’s music and costume designs and other materials including a typescript of Dulac’s ‘Pan and Syrinx’, a parody of a Yeatsian Noh play, written during the final months of World War I when Dulac and his wife had escaped London for Cranleigh in Surrey. The estimate is £10,000-£15,000.
Pistols with which Napoleon once intended to kill himself were sold for €1.69 million at French auction house Osenat on July 7. Made by Paris gunmaker Louis-Marin Gosset and owned by Napoleon they had been estimated at €1.2 – €1.5 million. Inlaid with gold and silver they feature an engraved image of the Emperor. They were sold at Osenat Fontainbleu, near the palace where the French Emperor tied to take his own life following his abdication in 1814. France’s culture ministry recently classified them as national treasures and banned their export. The French government now has 30 months to make a purchase offer to the new owner.
Cork Regency brass fender. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,300 AT HAMMER
Sheppards will offer contents from St. Austins, Gorey, Co. Wexford on July 16 and 17 with viewing on the premises on July 13 and 14. More than 1,300 lots will be on offer and highlights include a large 19th century gilt overmantle, an 18th century Dublin longcase clock, a large Cork brass fender and art by Letitia M Hamilton, James Humbert Craig and Grace Henry. The sale will be held in Durrow and the catalogue is online now.
The Sunlit Valley, The Rosses, Co. Donegal by James Humbert Craig. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,000 AT HAMMER
Art as an event in the Olympic Games was abandoned after 1948 because artists were considered to be professional and the games were for amateurs. That was then and this is now so our professional golfers Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, both qualified to represent Ireland at the games this year which get underway in Paris on July 26, have nothing to worry about.
At a time from 1912 to 1948 when medals were awarded for painting and sculpture inspired by sport, as well as to musicians, writers and architects, the northern Irish artist James Humbert Craig (1877-1944) was part of the Painting Event at the 1932 summer olympics in Los Angeles. He did not win but his landscapes are very highly regarded. One of them, an oil on canvas titled The Sunlit Valley, Rosses, Co. Donegal, will lead Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer art sale in Castlecomer on July 10 with an estimate of €6,000-€8,000. It is the most expensively estimated artwork at the sale.
The auction, on view in Castlecomer next Monday and Tuesday, features 345 lots of Irish and international art and sculpture along with Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian paintings.
Athlone Castle by James Lawson Stewart. UPDATE: THIS MADE 300 AT HAMMER
A topographical View of Athlone in 1853 from an elevated site attributed to George Vincent Cole is estimated at €300-€400 and a watercolour of Athlone Castle by British artist James Lawson Stewart (1829-1911) shows many features now disappeared (€400-€500). A hand coloured print of Edinburgh Castle from Holyrood House by Charles Windsor, now King of England, signed and dated on the lower right, is estimated at €800-€1,000. There is a similar estimate on an abstract landscape attributed to Andre Lhote.
Lot 261 is a bronze bust of Roger Casement attributed to Marshall Hutson. Though unsigned it is similar in style to the work of the Cork artist who died in 2001 and is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. Among his sculpted works is the stone crest of the City of Cork at the headquarters of Cork Harbour Commissioners at Custom House Street in Cork.
Ar an Costa by Daniel Corkery (1878-1964). UPDATE: THIS MADE 360 AT HAMMER
Ar an Costa is a watercolour of a coastal scene with figures on a beach by Daniel Corkery (1878-1964), a close friend of Terence McSwiney who became Professor of English at UCC in 1930. One of a group who established the Cork Dramatic Society in 1908 he wrote plays and short stories, played the cello, took night classes in painting at the Crawford and was author of The Hidden Ireland, a 1924 study of the poetry of 18th century Irish language poetry in Munster. Lot 44 at Mealy’s is estimated at €180-€220 and was formerly in the collection of An t’Athair Eric Mac Fhinn (1895-1987) of Galway.
There is a portrait of Walter Osborne by Augustus Burke (€3,000-€4,000), a pencil sketch of John O’Leary at trial by John Butler Yeats (€400-€500), a watercolour of the Rock of Cashel by Patrick Hennessy (€400-€600) and an oil of Country Cottages, Ireland c1810 by William Mulready (€700-€1,000) among a selection on offer that is both varied and affordable.
The sale will be on view in Castlecomer on July 8 and 9 and will begin at 2 pm on July 10. The catalogue is online. Nowadays the Venice Biennale is often referred to informally as the Olympics of art.
