Dublin Metropolitan Police reward poster for the Irish Crown Jewels. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600 AT HAMMER
This rare poster issued by the Dublin Metropolitan Police in the wake of the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels in 1907 comes up at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector timed online auction which runs until June 7. Issued by John Lowe, Superintendent with three illustrations of the jewels – all of them for the Order of Saint Patrick – the lot is estimated at 600-800.
The Jewels of the Order of St Patrick were the heavily jewelled badge and star created in 1831 for the Grand Master of the Order of St. Patrick established in 1783 by George III to be an Irish equivalent of the Order of the Garter in England. They were stolen along with the collars of five knights of the order. The theft was never solved and the items were never recovered. Viewing for the auction gets underway at Whyte’s today and the catalogue is online.
A pair of Art Nouveau figures on marble bases UPDATE: THESE MADE 300 AT HAMMER
Lovers of antique furniture, and there are still plenty of them out there, will find plenty of options that are both affordable and attractive, not to mention sustainable, at Marshs sale in Cork on June 12. The selection on offer ranges from an antique Queen Anne walnut bureau bookcase (€2,000-€3,000) and a pair of early Irish Georgian dining chairs (€1,500-€2,000) to an early walnut secretaire campaign chest (€500-€800) and a set of eight Cork dining chairs (€800-€1,000).
There is a choice of card tables led by a Regency marquetry inlaid example (€500-€1,000) as well as a large oval end Victorian dining table with an estimate of just €1,000-€1,500. There are collectible lithographs of Cork Harbour scenes by Robert Stopford and others, some Waterford Crystal and a private collection of around 150 lots of Irish, English and European coins.
A pair of Edwardian knife boxes. UPDATE: THESE MADE 600 AT HAMMER
Poster for cancelled Nirvana concert in Dublin in April 1994. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,900 AT HAMMER
An historic poster for a cancelled Nirvana concert at the RDS in Dublin on April 8, 1994, the day Kurt Cobain’s body was found in Seattle, the original manuscript from The Fianna of Fionn by Padraig Pearse, the magnificent sporting collection of Ed Hayes of Two Mile Borris, captain of the winning All-Ireland hurling team in 1900 and a letter to General Lauriston dictated and signed by Napoleon are highlights at Whyte’s. The timed online Eclectic Collector auction is open for bidding and runs until June 7.
The sale of 582 lots at Whytes includes historical artefacts, manuscripts, documents, photographs, books, militaria and medals, weapons and memorabilia.
The 1809 letter from Emperor Napoleon, Pádraig Pearse’s original handwritten manuscript of 23 pages, a 1966 Rising Jubilee 4 ounce gold medal, the British War medals to awarded to Captain G.T. Baggallay, assassinated by Michael Collins’ squad on Bloody Sunday, a 1921 grocer’s account for ‘The Irish Delegation to the Treaty Talks in London’ and the 1900-1910 Hurling, collection of Ed Hayes including All-Ireland, Tipperary and Munster Championships medals and two cups will attract many bidders.
The scarce Nirvana poster relates to a Dublin concert poignantly dated on the 1994 day Kurt Cobain’s body was found, three days after his suicide in Seattle. The artwork is based on the transparent anatomical mannikin with superimposed angel wings used on the cover of In Utero, the bands third and final studio album.
The oldest items are south Italian pot lids and a candle holder from c300 BC. There is a range of 17th century maps of Ireland and a Penal Cross from 1745, items from modern history including the Troubles and a Libyan munitions box seized on the MV Claudia in 1973.
The 1900-1910 medal and cup collection of Ed Hayes, Two Mile Borris including All Ireland, Tipperary and Munster Championships. UPDATE: THESE MADE 6,200 AT HAMMER
Prince’s original “Cloud 3” electric guitar used in his iconic ’80s-’90s tours from Purple Rain to Diamonds & Pearls, set a new world record for the most expensive Prince guitar ever sold at auction when it made $910,000 at Julien’s Music Icons sale in New York. Bono’s iconic U2 signed 2005 Gretsch G6136i “Irish Falcon” sold for $260,000, Steve Jones’ custom 1974 Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, recently verified as the punk rock icon’s true original and iconic Sex Pistols axe, sold for $390,000, Adam Clayton’s Fender Rose Sparkle Precision bass guitar from the U2 Las Vegas residency sold for $260,000, ans Cliff Williams’ circa 1980s AC/DC teal double cutaway precision style bass guitar with eight mother of pearl inlaid “penis” motifs sold for $22,750.
This 19th century band stand originally from the St. Louis Convent in Co. Monaghan made 5,000 at hammer
A rare 19th century bandstand from the St. Louis Convent in Co. Monaghan made a hammer price of €5,000 on day of Victor Mee’s two day summer garden sale today. It comes complete with cast iron Corinthian columns, timber frame and zinc roof. The guttering, not in the photograph, is included. A good quality wrought iron French greenhouse in the Victorian style made 6,200. A pair of bronze statues of foals and a bronze of a bellowing stag each made 4,000 and a decorated moulded sandstone fountain made €3,900. A set of entrance gates with cast iron gates posts made 3,200 and a pair of 19th century cast recumbent lions made 2,950.
An important Irish Provincial 18th Century two handled Loving Cup, by Joseph Johns, Limerick c. 1760’s
Irish silver made its mark at Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth two day summer fine art sale which got underway today. This two handled Limerick loving cup by Joseph Johns made €4,000 at hammer over a top estimate of €2,500. Other hammer prices included the following: an 18th century rococo style Irish silver coffee pot by William Reynolds, Cork (€3,800); An 18th century soup ladle by George Halloran, Limerick (€3,100); a c1770 provincial soup ladle by George Moore, Limerick (€3,000); a c1919 Dublin presentation salver by West (€2,600); a pair of 1770’s basting spoons by Phillip Walshe, Limerick (€2,500); a pair of c1750’s serving spoons by Joseph Johns, Limerick (€2,300); a c1740-50 pair of Irish table spoons by George Moore, Limerick (€2,200); a mid Victorian silver claret jug in the form of an Armada jug by Richard Martin and Ebenezer Hall (€2,100); a c1780’s Irish silver coffee pot by William Thompson and Michael Cormick (€2,000) and an 1841 tea and coffee service by William Hunter (€1,900).
18th Century Irish rococo Provincial Coffee Pot by William Reynolds, Cork
An oversized bronze of a crab at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER
The possibilities seem limitless at two day sales by both Fonsie Mealy in Castlecomer and Victor Mee in Belturbet on May 28 and 29. A 16th century tapestry once in the Rathcormac collection of American actor Hurd Hatfield and the advertising mirrors from the old Clancy’s Bar in Cork city centre give some idea of the breadth and scope of Fonsie Mealy’s two day summer fine art auction with 1,200 lots.
You could opt instead for a seven foot tall bronze sculpture of a crab (€8,000 – €12,000) or a wrought iron Victorian style conservatory with remotely controlled windows (€15,000-€25,000) at Victor Mee’s annual summer garden sale.
Fonsie Mealy will offer art by Montague Dawson, Gerard Dillon, Harry Kernoff, Augustus Burke, Dan O’Neill, Sean Keating and others, quality affordable and decorative furniture, Irish Provincial and Dublin silverware, clocks and jewellery. Lot 723 in this sale is the Ladbrokes Epsom Gold Cup from 1963 (€3,000-€5,000). The Choice of Hercules, the Flemish tapestry from the Hatfield collection is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. The actor was best known for playing the lead in the Oscar winning 1945 film of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Among the feature lots at Victor Mee are the Victorian bandstand from the famed St. Louis Convent in Co. Monaghan, a 19th century Carrara marble bath, a cast iron statue of a pig, a pair of majestic moulded sandstone lions, a sandstone fountain, a statue of boxing hares, a tree trunk bench and an Art Nouveau style stone figure of a lady along with an array of planters and gates, piers, pillar caps, steps and exterior lighting. Full catalogues for both sales are online.
A mirror advertising Paddy from Clancy’s Bar in Cork at Fonsie Mealy. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER
Some of the collection in situ at George Farrow’s home in Jersey.
This collectors home in Jersey demonstrates one way to show a wonderful selection. The George Farrow collection containing hundreds of sought after pieces from all over the world including rare art and antiques from China, the Middle East and Europe will come under the hammer at Roseberys in London on June 4. Brought up in South London George Farrow (1916-2001) rose to prominence as one of Britain’s largest private landlords after WWII. Post-retirement, his travels brought him to San Remo and Monte Carlo, but he ultimately longed for a British way of life and returned to his roots with his family. They converted Anne Port, an old farmhouse in Jersey, to house his significant collection of antiques. Farrow, who left school at 16, was inspired by childhood trips to Horniman Museum and the V&A and the literary works of Edgar Wallace and began collecting at the age of 12 or 13.
A 17th century North Italian marble relief of Marcus Curtius (Lot 45), acquired by a British private client for £91,240 against an estimate of £1,000-£1,500.
Highlights include a Berlin chinoiserie tapestry (£100,000-£200,000) showing the Chinese Emperor and other richly attired courtly figures around an elaborate dining table. It is attributed to the workshop of Jean II Barraband and Charles Vigne, after the design of a tapestry from the same series currently held in the collection of the Met. A pair of Chinese fishbowls (£30,000-50,000) exemplifies the zenith of Chinese export porcelain production during the reign of Qianlong. Two voided crimson velvet and silk 17th century catma panels (£20,000-30,000) are woven with repeating floral roundels of tulips, pomegranates and saz leaves and are a rare survival of court quality Ottoman velvets. The catalogue is now live at Roseberys.
UPDATE: THE SALE REALISED £1,071,000.
A fine and rare Berlin Chinoiserie tapestry. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
1809 (21 June). Letter from Emperor Napoleon to General Lauriston. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A rare 1809 letter dictated and signed by Napoleon comes up at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector online timed auction which runs until June 7. Napoleon writes from Schonbrunn ordering Lauriston to move 80 carriages of munitions to Vienna and to return other munitions he may have back to the corps they belong to, as well as returning the out of service cannon to be restored in Vienna. The letter was dictated to and written by a secretary and clearly signed by the Emperor. This very rare Napoleonic letter in the midst of his conquests is framed with a translation of the letter into English, and an Archives de France export permit. The estimate is €5,000-€7,000. The auction of 582 lots includes historical artefacts, manuscripts, documents, photographs, books, militaria and medals, weapons, memorabilia including advertising, sport and entertainment, coins and banknotes.
This 19th century carved limestone entrance staircase is at Victor Mee’s annual summer garden sale on May 28 and 29. With its sweeping sides, five steps and pillared planters it is estimated at €5,000-€8,000. More than 1,000 lots will come under the hammer on consecutive evenings and the catalogue is online. UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,200 AT HAMMER
