This Qianlong Famille Rose ‘Boy and Chicken’ cup made a hammer price of €115,000 at Adam’s sale of Fine Asian Art in Dublin today. It had been estimated at €20,000-€30,000. Cups of this type derive from earlier Chenghua doucai prototypes, particularly chicken-decorated examples. All bear the mark Da Qing Qianlong Fanggu ‘made in imitation of antiquity’ reflecting the Qianlong emperor’s strong interest in archaism. The inscription praises earlier artistic traditions, especially Ming dynasty chicken cups.
A possibly imperial Le Shan Tang seal made €55,000 at hammer, a pair of Imperial copper enamel painted dragon and phoenix covered ewers made €50,000, an Imperial white jade lança bowl made €34,000 and a celadon jade carving of a horse of sea made €15,000.
The Gaiety Theatre archive. UPDATE: THIS MADE 15,000 AT HAMMER
From the rapid construction of the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin in 1871 to an incredibly rare 1823 second edition of Frankenstein, the Carton House music collection to the earliest printed house contents sale catalogue in Ireland, Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collections sale in Castlecomer next week covers a multitude.
The catalogue includes the fascinating fact that the much loved Gaiety Theatre – which opened in 1871 and continues merrily to this day – was reputedly built in just 28 weeks from start to finish. Contrast that with a certain Events Centre in Cork where the first sod was turned ten and a half years ago and sod all has happened since. An archive of around 200 vellum patents and legal documents relating to The Gaiety – Sarah Bernhardt, Eileen Terry, Pavarotti, Maureen Potter, Jimmy O’Dea and the D’Oyly Carte Company have all performed here – is estimated at €7,000-€9,000.
A letter signed by Michael Collins as Minister for Finance. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER
The Carton House collection of 18th and 19th century music, purchased at the 1949 dispersal sale, is among the largest collections of music from an Irish stately home to come to market. Music by Handel, Beethoven and Haydn is included among 45 volumes in original calf bindings, many signed by the Duke of Leinster (€5,000-€7,000).
The newly discovered catalogue by Baillie Auctioneer for the sale of the goods of the late Edward Wingfield at Powerscourt and his house in Dublin (€3,000-€5,000) announces (confusingly) that it will begin .. “on Tuesday the 25th day of February 1728-29 and to continue till all are sold”. It lists contents from 45 rooms with lots ranging from 24 fine walnut chairs with Barbary leather seats, a Turkey carpet, five pairs of yellow Indian damask curtains to “One young black Stone Horse fit for an officer” and a stage coach with a new seat cloth never used since it was re-lined.
A 1951-52 photograph of Brendan Behan and Micheal MacLiammoir signed by Daniel Farson. UPDATE: THIS MADE 700 AT HAMMER
Irish and international literature is headed by a rare 1823 edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a second (1813) edition of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and a signed limited edition printing of Bog Poems by Seamus Heaney. A sonnet handwritten by William Wordsworth with provenance to the de Veres of Curragh Chase and the O’Briens of Dromoland Castle is estimated at €1,500-€2,000. A 1951-52 photograph of Brendan Behan and Michael MacLiammoir by Daniel Farson (€700-€900) and a first (1957) edition of From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming (€350-€420) feature among the fascinating lots.
The most expensively estimated of these is the Moore St. flag of Truce, a white linen handkerchief used by Volunteers to surrender during the East Rising (€10,000-€15,000). There is a rare 1918 printing of The Proclamation of the Irish Republic, a 1916 Volunteers green tunic and a 1920 letter signed by Michael Collins as Minister for Finance.
Sporting memorabilia includes a programme for an early soccer international between Ireland and England at Goodison Park, Liverpool in 1907 and a 1914 All Ireland football final programme between Kerry and Wexford which ended in a draw.
The three day sale takes place next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday June 23, 24 and 25. It is on view in Castlecomer on the afternoon of June 21 and from 10 am to 5 pm on June 22. The catalogue is online.
Ist Edition From Russia with Love UPDATE: THIS MADE 400 AT HAMMER
The Islands by Vivien John (1915-1994) UPDATE: THIS MADE €120 AT HAMMER
Aidan Foley’s online evening auctions on June 22 and 23, now on view in Doneraile, offer 122 lots of paintings and prints headed by a Translucent Study by Francis Tansey and a pencil sketch of Lily Yeats by John Butler Yeats. There is a Regency style three pillar dining table, a Victorian boot and stick stand, a Victorian oak consul table, an Edwardian Sutherland table and a pair of gilt framed armchairs among a selection of 82 lots of furniture. A selection of pub memorabilia, garden furniture, porcelain and crystal and a wide variety of collectibles is on offer.
A gem set and diamond bracelet. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,000 AT HAMMER
This gem set and diamond bracelet is among the leading lots at Adam’s Jewellery Box sale in Dublin on June 23. Mounted in 18 carat gold with partial Italian registry marks it contains rubies, sapphires, emeralds, citrines, amethysts, tourmalines, peridots, aquamarines topazes, morganites and diamonds. The estimate is €7,000-€8,000. A total of 336 lots will come under the hammer.
ART DECO WALNUT AND CHROME CONSOLE TABLE. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200
This Art Deco console table of inverted triangular form is lot 89 at Mullen’s timed online auction which runs at Laurel Park, Bray, Co. Wicklow until the evening of June 21. The estimate is €1,200-€1,800. There are 629 lots on a catalogue which features art, twenty lots of garden furniture, furniture and a wide selection of collectibles.
A FAMILLE ROSE EXPORT PORCELAIN ‘SCOTSMEN’ PLATE. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
One of the more unusual lots at Adam’s Asian and Tribal art auction on June 25 is this Qianlong Scotsmen plate. The ‘Scotsmen’ or ‘Highlanders’ decoration count as one of the most important and iconic imageries seen on Chinese export art. The figures in the centre depict a piper and a private from the 42nd Regiment of Foot, a predecessor to the famous Black Watch. Members of the regiment deserted the Stuart cause, known as Jacobitism, which aimed to restore the House of Stuart to the throne. On July 18, 1743, Corporals Samuel and Malcolm McPherson and Private Farquar Shaw were executed at the Tower for the mutiny, and a Piper Macdonnel was sent to Georgia, USA, as a convict. These men were seen as Jacobite martyrs, and memorialised on plates and punch bowls bearing these figures. This plate dates to 1745-50 and is estimated at €1,500-€3,000.
The Moore St. Flag of Truce at Fonsie Mealy’s sale. UPDATE: THIS MADE 62,000 AT HAMMER
In this age of digital and AI it is good to see the enduring popularity of rare book and collectors sales. All sorts of interesting lots come under the hammer. Fonsie Mealy’s three day sale in Castlecomer on June 23, 24 and 25 is headed by the Moore St. flag of truce, the white linen handkerchief which indicated the Volunteers wished to surrender their final position during the Easter Rising on April 29, 1916. Singularities like this do not come cheap and this one is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
With more than 1,250 lots on offer there is much to choose from, including sporting memorabilia, historical and political items and literature including the first edition in English of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and a scarce 1823 edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Viewing gets underway in Castlecomer on June 19.
In Birr the book auction with more than 600 lots at Purcell Auctioneers on June 17 offers eight folio volumes from the 1871 census arranged by province and county (€600-€800), four folio volumes from the 1881 census with more than 4,000 pages of statistical information and a first edition of Dancing at Lughnasa signed by Brian Friel (€300-€500). At Purcell’s sale in May a 15th century medieval legal manuscript in middle French from the library of Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872) made €36,000 at hammer.
The programme for the 1914 All Ireland Football Final refereed by the patriot and revolutionary Harry Boland at Fonsie Mealy.
19th century Killarney davenport made €14,000 at hammer
There was some cheer on the antique furniture front at day one of Victor Mee’s three day sale of contents from the Convent of Mercy in Newry and other clients today. A ten foot long Irish Georgian mahogany wake table made a hammer price of €21,500 and a 19th century Killarney arbutus and marquetry davenport made €14,000 on the hammer. Stellar results like this are encouraging in an era where quality antique pieces are increasingly being by-passed at auction. The Armagh Harp with carved and painted Celtic motifs made by James McFall in Belfast made €4,800 at hammer and an early 19th century pedal harp by Sebastian Erard made €3,200. The auction continues on June 10 and 11.
Irish Georgian mahogany Wake table on square legs made €21,500 at hammer
Francois Xavier Lalanne – Set of four Grenouille Fountains (1981) at Christie’s. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR $6,297,000
The most expensive frog fountains in the world are heading to the auction block at Christie’s design sale in New York on June 10. From the collection of American designer Alexandra Marshall, who commissioned them directly from the artist in 1981, the set of four Grenouille fountains designed by Francois Xavier Lalanne are estimated at $2.5 million – $3.5 million (€2.15 million – €3 million). Cast in patinated bronze the playful fountains are finished in a bright turquoise green with mouths that open when the water is turned on and close when it is turned off. They are the most expensively estimated lot at a sale at Christie’s which features titans of design from Tiffany studios and William Morris to Alberto Giacometti, Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and Joaquim Tenreiro.
Viewing gets underway in Newry tomorrow (June 5) for Victor Mee’s three day online sale of interiors and decorative arts on June 9, 10 and 11. The auction of contents from the Convent of Mercy at Catherine St. in Newry, other Mercy convents and some other clients features more than 1700 lots. Among them are six harps made by the Belfast craftsman James McFall in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The McFall harp is closely associated with the Irish cultural revival. The Armagh harp pictured here is lot 386 and estimated at€2,000-€4,000. It is decorated with carved and painted Irish Celtic motifs and complete with a McFall brass plaque which dates it to 1903. The sale also offers a good selection of quality Killarney furniture.
