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    VARIED AND COLLECTIBLE LOTS AT AUCTION IN IRELAND NOW

    Saturday, August 17th, 2024

    George Lothian Hall (1825-1888) – Kenmare at James Adam. UPDATE: THIS MADE 260 AT HAMMER

    AN  early watercolour of Kenmare, a Waterford Crystal 12 branch chandelier, a diamond riviere necklace, an extremely rare antique Hardy brass face Perfect specimen reel, a white marble inlaid chimney piece and a carved limestone head are among the varied and highly collectible offerings at upcoming sales in Ireland.

    Easy and convenient to view these lots are from sales to be held online  respectively by Adams in Dublin, Keighery’s of Waterford, Purcell Auctioneers in Birr, Matthews of Kells, Mullens of Laurel Park in Bray and O’Donovans of Newcastle West between now and August 28.

    To take the last one first there is bound to be interest from Kerry in an 1886 watercolour of Kenmare by the Liverpool born George Lothian Hall whose paintings can be found in the Yale Centre for British Art.  With Kenmare faintly visible in the background it depicts a sailing boat, some other leisure vessels, cattle, cottages and a horse and trap. The estimate at the James Adam At Home sale of 394 lots on August 28 is €2,000-€3,000.

    The Waterford chandelier at Keighery’s auction on August 19 is estimated at €4,000-€6,000. This sale of over 650 lots will include items from the Furlong estate of historian and journalist Nicholas and antique dealer Mairead of Wexford.  There are antique books of Wexford and Irish history, some attractive furniture, various books on antiques, Imari chargers and collectibles including a sailing ship in a case among a large selection of lots.

    A white marble inlaid chimney piece at Mullen’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER

    The timed online Classic and Contemporary Interiors sale at Mullen’s of Laurel Park at 6 pm on August 18 offers an inverted breakfront white marble inlaid chimney piece (€2,500-€3,500) as one of its leading pieces.  There is  furniture, art and lighting on offer in this sale of over 770 lots.

    A rare antique Hardy reel at Purcell’s UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER

    With an estimate of €2,000-€4,000 an extremely rare Hardy specimen reel leads the sale by Purcell Auctioneers of Birr  on August 21.  It bears the stamp “B”, believed to be the mark of either Alfred or Frederick Broadley, two highly respected figures in the world of salmon perfect reel making whose contribution to the Hardy legacy is well documented. The leather case is marked  P D Mallock, Perth, a firm renowned for producing high quality angling accessories.  Purcells say the reel is in very good condition and the brass face remains structurally sound.

    If you are seriously interested in the diamond 91 stone riviere necklace  at Matthews in Kells on August 21 you must go and see it. There will be viewing from noon to 5 pm on August 18, 19 and 20.  It is 42 cm long and the total weight is 22 carats.  The estimate is €12,500-€17,500.  Even if it is beyond your range the auction offers 524 other lots of  jewellery, silver and collectibles including unredeemed pawnbroker pledges and executor instructions.

    A carved limestone head (€300-€400) is included in the online only sale at O’Donovans in Newcastle West on August 24. The auction comprises 303 lots from the Redemptorist fathers at Esker Monastery, Athenry,  Co. Galway.  Among them are sets of Stations of the Cross, statues, altars and no less than five sets of five pitch pine church pews with carved ends (€100-€150 a set).  All will be offered without reserve. 

    A 91 stone diamond riviere necklace at Matthews. UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,200 AT HAMMER

    STUDY FOR AN ALLEGORY BY SEAN KEATING AT DOLANS

    Saturday, August 17th, 2024

    Sean Keating – Study for An Allegory. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    The pointlessness of civil war, specifically the Irish civil war, is the inspiration for this watercolour and charcoal study by Sean Keating.  Based on his famous An Allegory at the National Gallery and unseen in public for many years it comes up at Dolan’s timed online auction which runs until August 26 with an estimate of €60,000-€80,000.  Central to the painting is a mother and her baby, wrapped in white for purity and innocence.  The figure is Sean Keating’s wife May in the guise of Mother Ireland.  Keating portrays himself at her side, weary of the destruction of the Civil War which followed the War of Independence.

    The catalogue for the sale, which features Irish art including a watercolour titled A Limerick Farm (1929) by Harry Kernoff and Salthill Diving Boards by Susan Cronin, rare Irish Midleton and Jameson whiskey along with wine, stamps, books and collectibles including a wooden rocking horse, is online.

    Harry Kernoff – A Limerick Farm (1929). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    THE EINSTEIN LETTER THAT WENT NUCLEAR AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, August 15th, 2024

    The 1939 letter from Einstein to President Franklin D Roosevelt that ushered in the age of the atomic bomb comes up at Christie’s in New York on September 10 with an estimate of $4 million – $6 million. It will lead the Pushing Boundaries: Ingenuity from the Paul G Allen collection sale. The Einstein letter resulted in the Manhattan Project and the story of atomic power told in the 2023 blockbuster film Oppenheimer might never have happened had it not been written. Two versions were drafted, the shorter version on offer here and a more detailed one delivered to the White House by hand – now in the permanent collection of the Franklin D Roosevelt Library in New York. The sale tells the story of science and technology from pre-history to the present day through nearly 40 inspirational documents and objects. The majority of lots date from the 20th century, reflecting Mr. Allen’s most personal passions and serving as a testament to the rapid pace of technological innovation in living memory. 

    ANCIENT CELTIC TORC IS LIKELY PART OF RATHCORMACK HOARD

    Wednesday, August 14th, 2024

    ANCIENT CELTIC RIBBON TORC c500 BC – 500 AD

    This Torc, believed to be part of the Rathcormack hoard of 1882-83, made £45,200 including buyers premium at an antiquities sale at Lyon and Turnbull. From a private collection in Edinburgh it was acquired by the family in the 1920’s and thence by descent. The piece originally belonged to Robert Carfrae (1820-1900).

    The present style of torc or armlet is exceptionally rare, and is known only from a single hoard discovered near Rathcormack, Co. Cork in 1882 – 1883. The hoard was first described in the ‘Proceedings’ section of the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (Anon. 1883-4, 52) where it was noted that Ralph Westropp of Cork exhibited a silver torc with the accompanying note: “It seems that this was found near Rathcormack, county of Cork, with five others of similar make, about the close of last year or early in the present one, by a peasant, beneath a stone in a field, when ploughing.”

    The are three recorded examples of the hoard, currently at the National Museum of Scotland and the Metropolitan Museum, New York. All are known to have originated from the Rathcormack Hoard and it is likely that this piece shares the same provenance, though this is unproven.

    CORK REGENCY MIRROR AT HEGARTY’S SALE IN BANDON

    Monday, August 12th, 2024

    A CORK REGENCY TRIPLE PANEL OVER MANTLE MIRROR. UPDATE: THIS MADE 220 AT HAMMER

    Garden furniture, art, silver, antique furniture and collectibles will feature in an online sale by Hegarty’s in Bandon on August 14.  A Regency triple over mantle mirror with an R & W Clarke of Cork label is estimated at €300-€600 and there is an estimate of €900-€1,200 for an oil by John Morris entitled Brittas Bay.  The auction gets underway at 5 pm.

    ARTS AND CRAFTS OAK DRESSER AT ADAMS NEXT SALE

    Thursday, August 8th, 2024

    AN ARTS AND CRAFTS OAK DRESSER. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER

    The timeless aesthetic and commitment of the Arts and Crafts movement is evident in this oak dresser which comes up as lot 277 at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on August 28 with an estimate of 1,000-1,500. This is a timed online sale with 401 lots and it will be on view at St. Stephen’s Green from Saturday, August 24. There is art, silver, collectibles, antique furniture, Oriental rugs, porcelain and even a collection of Scottish Freemasons regalia belonging to life member William Kirkhope. The catalogue is online.

    AN IRISH AUCTION AND A BRITISH TV SERIES

    Sunday, August 4th, 2024

    A 17th century Tibeto Chinese meteorite iron phurba, or dagger.

    Irish auctioneers Sheppards of Durrow are likely to be propelled into tv stardom thanks to the Country House Auction, a series of four one hour programmes on Channel 4. The show, which is about to be broadcast, captures all the suspense and excitement of a live sale Sheppards conducted at Castle Durrow early last November.

    While Sheppards, Durrow and its castle are the stars of the show a sacred Tibetan meteorite iron Phurba, which made €140,000 at hammer over an estimate of €20,000-€30,000, is the star of the auction and the opening episode.  There is much excitement around a Neoclassical chimneypiece in Carrara marble, a gold Cartier collar, a guitar signed by the Rolling Stones and a five stone diamond ring.  There is focus too on the owners of 18th century Castle Durrow opening their doors to a public auction for the first time in an opening episode gorgeously  narrated by Hattie Morahan which show Durrow and its world renowned auction house in a most beautiful light. The first episode is on August 13 at 9 pm.

    A guitar signed by the Rolling Stones.

    A c1770 SILVER SAUCE BOAT AT HEGARTY’S IN BANDON

    Sunday, July 28th, 2024

    18TH CENTURY CORK GEORGE III SILVER SAUCE BOAT, BY JOHN SHEEHAN. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,550 AT HAMMER

    This c 1770 heavy silver sauce boat by John Sheehan, Cork comes up at Hegarty’s online sale in Bandon on July 31. With punch mark details to the rim, triple scroll handle and tripod legs it weighs 262 grams. The estimate is 1,500-2,000. The auction offers a selection of garden furniture, art, antiques, silver and collectibles including an Edwardian secretaire bookcase, a vintage cast iron garden seat,  a pair of Cantonese double gourd vases and a vintage iron armillary spear on corinthian column base.

    LOTS OF CHOICE AT FONSIE MEALY RARE BOOK AND COLLECTORS SALE

    Saturday, July 27th, 2024

    The US-European shipping archive of The Widow Bermingham & Sons. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A lock of Michael Collins hair, a large Tara brooch, the first edition of the 1843-44 Ordnance Survey Atlas of Co. Limerick, a Historic Guide to the White House, 1963 signed by John F. Kennedy, a 1912 Louth All Ireland football winners medal, a first printing of de Valera’s new Constitution signed by the cabinet and a rare lady’s blue shirt uniform all feature at Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collectors sale in Castlecomer on July 28 and 29.

    Sales like this offer all kinds of everything, from Jack B Yeats illustrations to rare Harry Potter editions, a heavy Webley .44 revolver believed to have belonged to John MacBride, an Irish 20 pence trial piece coin from 1985 and a collection of long playing records signed by Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Roy Rogers and Frankie Laine.

    A lock of Michael Collins’s hair. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,400

    The early US/European 19th century maritime shipping papers of the St. Sebastian Basque trading company for The Widow Bermingham & Sons is, at €7,000-€10,000, the most expensively estimated lot.  The Berminghams were a prominent Galway family, some of whom emigrated to San Sebastian to establish a shipping agency. These original, unresearched papers from 1800-14 provide details of the issues faced by early shipping entrepreneurs during the Napoleonic Wars and the Barbary War.

    The Blueshirts – the paramilitary organisation of the Irish Free State many of whose members went on to fight for the nationalists in Spain – did not have women on board. Membership was subsequently opened to those who had not served in the armed forces but the woman’s blue shirt with elasticated waist, Fine Gael badge and Army Comrades insignia is an extremely rare item (€3,000-€4,000). 

    The lock of hair was given after the death of Michael Collins to his friend Felix Cronin and is estimated at €5,000-€7,000.  A veteran of the War of Independence and the Civil War he married Kitty Kiernan three years after the death of Collins in 1922.  Lot 634 is a collection of eight Irish army brass uniform buttons complete with a letter from Michael Collins Powell to General O’Duffy dated 27/1/33 asking for a receipt for the enclosed: “found in Michael’s pocket, August 22nd, 1922”. Mary Collins Powell was a sister of Michael Collins. The estimate is €7,000-€10,000.

    A large Tara Brooch in 18 carat gold  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,000

    A large Tara brooch in 18 carat gold by Hopkins and Hopkins, Dublin is estimated at €5,000-€6,000.  It belonged to Alice Milligan, poet and playwright and founder of the influential Shan Van Vhoct periodical.

    A copy of Some Experiences of an Irish R M and other books by Edith Somerville and signed by her in 1948 are estimated at €120-€180.  Collectors interested in travel will be interested in an 1825 book entitled The Pleasure Tours in Ireland (€160-€220), an 1812  book of Illustrations of the Scenery of Killarney and the Surrounding Country (€150-€200),  Vanishing Dublin by Flora Mitchell (€200-€300), Life in the West of Ireland by Jack B. Yeats (€400-€600) and a good album of 300 original postcards of Cork city, Bandon, Queenstown, Crosshaven and Ballycotton (€600-€800).

    The catalogue with 831 lots is online and there will be viewing in Castlecomer from 1 pm to 5 pm tomorrow and from 10 am to 5 pm on Monday.  Sales are at 11 am sharp on Tuesday and Wednesday.

     A first Australian edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,150 AT HAMMER

    IRISH CENTRE TABLE IN YEW WOOD AT SEAN EACRETT SALE

    Friday, July 26th, 2024

     19th century Irish yew wood centre table. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    This 19th century Irish centre table in yew wood is at Sean Eacrett’s July fine art and antiques sale which gets underway at 10 am on July 27. Complete with brass inlaid top and rectangular platform base the auctioneer reckons it was probably made in Killarney. The estimate is 1,000-1,500 and this is the most expensively estimated piece in an auction of more than 800 lots including 264 lots of traditional and contemporary furniture. The catalogue is online.