George III Irish provincial silver marrow scoop – Thomas John Burke, Limerick, 1784 – 1800. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £573.75
A rare Limerick silver marrow scoop comes up at Bonhams Home and Interiors sale in London on March 29-30. Made by Thomas Burke it is estimated at £800-£1,000. The sale features a number of items of Irish silver from the Peter Ticher collection which includes a pair of George II Irish cast silver candlesticks by Matthew Walker, Dublin, 1730–1731. Estimates range from £100-£4,000. Highlights include An 18th century Irish silver cream jug with no maker’s mark, only crowned harp and Hibernia, circa 1750 (£500-£600); a collection of Irish silver bright-engraved flatware, varying makers (£400-£600) and eleven Irish provincial silver teaspoons by Carden Terry & Jane Williams, Cork, stamped with maker’s mark CT over IW, and stamped Sterling, circa 1810 (£300-£400).
CARVED BOG OAK HARP WITH SHAMROCK DECORATION. UPDATE: THIS MADE 240 AT HAMMER
THE harp that once is commemorated in this bog oak piece which comes up as lot 63 at Sheppards Irish Vernacular sale on March 29. Unrivalled symbols of Ireland the harp and the shamrock are deeply associated with celebrations marking St. Patrick’s Day. The ballad by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) symbolises an Ireland that was still under British domination and begins:
The harp that once through Tara’s halls The soul of music shed Now hangs as mute on Tara’s walls As if the soul were fled
A 1930 version sung by Count John McCormack is available on You Tube. Sheppards sale offers 403 lots. The catalogue is online and the bog oak harp is estimated at 200-300. Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Still winning after all these years the brothers Edward (1827?-1887) and John Burke (1829-1892) have done it again. A framed E and J Burke Dublin Chicago and New York Baseball players advertisement made a hammer price of 19,000 as Victor Mee’s three day sale of HCR chemists memorabilia, pub memorabilia and decorative advertising began to draw to a conclusion this evening. It was lot number 1447 in the sale. In March 2020 a similar advertisement made 17,500 at Sheppards.
The brothers were Irish distillers, brewers, bottlers and importers, cousins of Benjamin Lee Guinness and grandsons of the first Arthur Guinness. The company they founded in 1847 was in business in New York City from 1874 to 1953. A six story brick warehouse at 616 W 46th St. served as headquarters and storage from 1913-1922.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 3, 2020)
Deep Sea Divers Helmet UPDATE: THIS MADE 190 AT HAMMER
You never know what you might come across at an auction of house contents. Which is why they are brimful of interest. This copper deep sea divers helmet with the insignia of the US Navy Mark V full size is one of the more unusual collectibles at Matthews sale of contents of Rath House, Dundalk on March 20. There are 1,117 lots including antiques, art, silver and collectibles. The helmet is lot 47 and is estimated at just 120-180.
Mahogany pharmacy shop back with 84 labelled drawers. UPDATE: THIS MADE 13,200 AT HAMMER
The clearance sale of contents from the chain of Hayes Conyngham Robinson chemist shops at Victor Mee next week is just the tonic for collectors with an interest in Ireland’s retail history. An entire era of shop fittings went into long term storage when the business was taken over by Boots in 1998. Historic items like beautiful old cash registers and the kind of medicine bottles your grandmother would have been familiar with will come under the hammer at a three day live and online sale from Belturbet, Co. Cavan, which will include pub and advertising memorabilia, starting on Monday.
Founded in 1897 HCR operated for over 100 years, ending up with 30 locations across Ireland. All proceeds from the HCR lots are to be donated to Bernardo’s. Chemist jars with black and gold labels and early 20th century amber glass chemist bottles are redolent of an era that many older readers will fondly remember, a time when no visit by a child with an adult to a chemist shop would be complete without a twisted orange coloured barley sugar stick. The ingenuity of collectors is legendary and the thought of new life and new uses for venerable items like an early 20th century mahogany chemist counter back is heartening. This one, complete with centre glazed door and gilded PRESCRIPTIONS pediment, is estimated at €1,500-€2,500. There is an estimate of €1,000-€2,000 on a mahogany chemist counter and a shop counter with a bank of 50 drawers is estimated at €1,500-€3,000.
Collection of eight Bristol blue chemist bottles. UPDATE: THESE MADE 200 AT HAMMER
There are various collections of chemists poison bottles, amber bottles and glass jars at estimates of from €50 to €250. There are wall cabinets, wooden advertising boxes, floor cabinets with adjustable shelving, shop display cabinets and even an animatronic chemists advertising machine.A Kirker and Green advertising mirow from the Connswater Distillery in Belfast, which closed in 1929, is a leading lot in the pub memorabilia section. There is a highly collectible Mitchell’s Whiskey mirror, Capstan and Players cigarette machines and some bottles of rare Irish whiskey. The catalogue is online and Victor Mee is hosting actual viewings for the first time in two years. Auctions are at 5 pm on March 14, 15 and 16.
A messenger bike from Roches pub grocery shop on Inishbofin. UPDATE: THIS MADE 550 AT HAMMER
Whiskey barrel with a stainless steel top. UPDATE: THIS MADE 120 AT HAMMER
Aidan Foley will offer the contents of the Ardhu Bar, Ennis Road, Limerick at an online auction due to begin at noon on March 13. Included is a long bespoke mahogany bar counter, outdoor benches, whiskey barrels, parasols, bar furniture and sound systems. There is viewing at the bar today from noon to 4 pm.
Courtyard lounge, ground floor, Givenchy’s Hotel d’Orrouer with Picasso’s Faun with a Spear. Courtesy, Christie’s Images Ltd. UPDATE: THIS PICASSO MADE €3,500,000 AT HAMMER
The first highlights from the collection of Hubert de Givenchy were unveiled by Christie’s today. They include Woman Walking by Alberto Giacometti (€20-30 million); Passage of the Migratory Bird by Joan Miro (€2.5 – €3.5 million) and Faun with a Spear by Pablo Picasso (€1.5 – 2 million). With over 1,200 lots dating from the 17th to the 20th century, this collection features a remarkable gathering of nearly 800 pieces of French and European furniture, including many masterpieces of classical furniture from the French Regency period to the Neoclassical period and onwards.
In the decoration of his homes, Hubert de Givenchy always considered the furniture in constant dialogue with the works of art, both ancient and modern. Alongside numerous major sculptures and paintings by old masters such as Hubert Robert, the collection includes several masterpieces of modern art: from the couturier’s friend and collaborator Alberto Giacometti’s Woman Walking, a key painting by Joan Miró never before presented on the market, several works by Alberto’s brother, Diego Giacometti and more contemporary works by Claudio Bravo and François-Xavier Lalanne.
Already underway in Palm Beach, a selection of works from the collection will be previewed in several cities including New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Sales will take place in Paris from June 14-17 and online from June 8-23.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 2, 2022)
Joan Miró – Passage of the Migratory Bird. UPDATE: THIS MADE €5,750,000 AT HAMMER
Pair of sandstone urns. UPDATE: THE CLOSING BID WAS RECORDED AS 8,000
These impressive sandstone urns, each 220 cm high, come up at Mullen’s timed classic and contemporary interiors sale which runs in Bray until March 13. The ovoid tapering urns, hung with ribbon tied floral festoons, are flanked by figural handles above a waisted sockel with square base. The estimate is 8,000-10,000, making this the most expensively estimated lot in an auction of 656 lots which is on view from March 10. Lot 2, an Arts and Crafts oak hat, coat and stick stand, is modestly estimated at 100-150. The catalogue is online.
Free State Penny (1921-1937) by Roman sculptor Publio Morbiducci (1889-1963)
A rare bronze Irish Free State penny from 1927 made for £17,360 at in a sale of Irish coins, tokens and historical medals at Dix Noonan Webb in London. Designed for a competition by Roman sculptor Publio Morbiducci (1889-1963) it is decorated with a harp, hens and chickens. Never put into circulation it had been estimated at £4,000-£5,000. It was purchased by an Irish collector.
RICHARD AVEDON (1923–2004) Bob Dylan, Folk Singer, New York City, 1963
This gelatin silver print from 1967 of Bob Dylan by Richard Avedon is estimated at $40,000-60,000. It comes up at an online sale of photographs from the collection of actor Richard Gere at Christie’s from March 23 – April 7. The 156-lot sale offers works spanning the entire history of the medium, including 19th century masters Gustave Le Gray and Carleton Watkins, to recognised early 20th century figures such as Edward Weston, Tina Modotti and Alfred Stieglitz, through notable contemporary icons of today including Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Sally Mann, Robert Mapplethorpe and Herb Ritts. Many of the works were acquired directly from the artists, many of whom Mr. Gere counted among his close friends. The sale carries a low estimate of nearly $2 million.
Richard Gere said: “These photographs arrived in my life because I felt something for them. They have real soul, a humanity, a generosity – it doesn’t matter what the technique is. You know, you listen to an early recording of a great opera singer from 1902, when they just started recording – it’s scratchy, it’s trebly. But the quality of that voice, the soul of the voice, it still hits you hard in your heart. Most of the photographers here are not that interested in technique. And the ones that are interested in technique were coming from a deep, personal place, with a point of view, and understanding of the universe.”
