SIR WILLIAM ORPEN – THE ROSCOMMON FUSILIER. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Among the lots at Dolans auction on November 29 are a drawing by Sir William Orpen of The Roscommon Fusilier. The drawing depicts a young woman, with hand on hip, wearing a militia uniform, complete with military hat and plume. It is sketched on ‘Metropolitan School of Art, Kildare Street, Dublin’ paper. Orpen taught there in the early years of the 20th century. The sitter was Vera Hone and it is estimated at 9,000-12,500. A charcoal study of The Men of Aran by Sean Keating is estimated at 16,000-20,000. UPDATE: THE KEATING MADE €16,000 AT HAMMER.
The timed online sale features a selection of fine Irish whiskeys as well as antique furniture, silver and rugs.
Before settling in Rosscarbery in 1971 the late Anthony Bartley was one of the few to whom so much was owed by so many. The medals of the Battle of Britain fighter ace, once married to the Hollywood actress Deborah Kerr, are to be sold by Dix Noonan Webb in London on December 8. Squadron Leader Bartley, one of the founder members of 92 Squadron, is credited with at least 12 victories, eight damaged, a number of probables and possibles, and countless unclaimed.He cut his teeth over the beaches of Dunkirk, shooting down two enemy aircraft after his first dogfight on May 23, 1940.
On September 15, 1940 at the height of the Battle of Britain he survived against the odds. His description of what happened that day makes exciting reading. ‘I heard a cannon shell explode behind my armour-plated seat back, a bullet whizzed through my helmet, grazing the top of my head and shattering my gun sight, while others punctured my oil and glycol tanks. A 109 flashed by. Fumes then started to fill my cockpit, and I knew without doubt that I had had it, so I threw open my hood, undid my straps and started to climb over the side. As I braced myself to bale out, I saw my enemy preparing for another attack, and knew it meant suicide to jump with him around. Escaping airmen over their own territory were fair game in some combatants’ log book, and a friend of mine had been shot down in his parachute. So, I decided to bluff it out, climbed back into my aircraft, and turned on my attacker.My ruse worked; he didn’t know how hard he’d hit me, but he did know that a Spitfire could turn inside a Messerschmitt, and I fired a random burst to remind him, whereupon he fled for home. By this time I was too low to jump, so I headed for a field and prayed. At a hundred feet, my engine blew up, and I was blinded by oil. I hit the ground, was catapulted out, and landed in a haystack, unharmed”. The seven medals he was awarded come up with an estimate of £100,000-£140,000. After moving to Hollywood he formed European American Productions. He wrote and produced television films for Fireside Theatre, MCA and Douglas Fairbanks Presents. He moved to Rosscarbery in 1971 with his second wife Victoria. Born in India Bartley’s father was Sir Charles Bartley, an Irish judge who served in the Calcutta High Court.
THE 1947 WEDDING BETWEEN ANTHONY BARTLEY AND DEBORAH KERR. image courtesy Dix Noonan Webb
An original copy of the Irish Proclamation. UPDATE: THIS MADE 130,000 AT HAMMER
An original copy of the Proclamation of Independence comes up as lot 937 at Matthews sale of a single owner collection on the evening of November 30. This rare survivor – the most important document in the history of the Irish Nation – was issued by the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army and read by Padraig Pearse from the steps of the GPO on O Connell Street, Dublin on Easter Monday 1916. This copy was last sold at Adams in Dublin in 2006. It is estimated at 120,000-€180,000.
A dispute over ownership has led to the withdrawal of the works for Youghal’s Clock Gate Tower from the sale by Lynes and Lynes in Carrigtwohill on November 27. Auctioneer Denis Lynes has now sourced another historic clock instead. On offer are the clockworks for a turret clock made by James Mosley in Waterford. It was originally in the tower of St. Anne’s Church in Cappoquin. It comes up with an estimate of 1,500-2,000. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,200 AT HAMMER
John Shinnors – Girl and White Umbrella. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
Girl and White Umbrella by John Shinnors is lot 56 at Dolan’s November online auction which runs until the evening of November 29. It is estimated at 4,000-6,000. The sale features art by Sean Keating, Sir William Orpen, Kenneth Webb, Mat Grogan, John Morris and many other artists. There is a selection of fine Irish whiskeys as well as antique furniture and collectibles among 252 lots on offer. The catalogue is online.
A military despatch from Michael Collins written on August 19, 1922 comes up as lot 838 at Matthews single owner collection sale on November 30. Just three days later, on August 22, 1922, the Irish revolutionary Commander in Chief was shot dead at Beal na Blath in Co. Cork. Matthews believe this military despatch to be his last written words. From the collection of the late Donall O Morain, former chief executive of Gael Linn and chairman of the RTE Authority It is estimated at €7,000-€12,000. It had been given to him by his uncle Finian Lynch, who served as an assistant secretary to the Treaty Delegation with Michael Collins in London and was Minister for Education in the First Dail. Lot 937 is an original copy of the 1916 Proclamation and is estimated at €120,000-€180,000.
The Military Despatch signed by Michael Collins. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,100 AT HAMMER
A Cork silver tablespoon by Isaac Solomon. UPDATE: THIS MADE 220 AT HAMMER
More than 400 lots will come under the hammer at the Lynes and Lynes online sale in Carrigtwohill on November 27. The silver section includes a Cork silver tablespoon by Isaac Solomon, a Georgian silver ladle by Richard Sawyer, Dublin and a heavy tray by William Egan of Cork. Victorian pieces include a three door Victorian secretaire, an antique couch and an oak and brass hall stand. A pair of early 19th century porcelain plaques stamped Franz Xaver Thallmaier of Munich have an estimate of €2,000-€3,000. There is a Hornby train collection and comics from the 1950’s include The Dandy, The Beano, The Rover and The Eagle. More than 30 lots of books includes Evelyn Bolster’s History of Cork in four volumes and correspondence between Eamon de Valera and Jenny Dowdall of Cork. There will be interest too in a heavy cast iron water trough, a pair of old iron gates and an early plough by Pierce of Wexford. The catalogue is online.
Valentino, Givenchy, Dior, Philip Treacy and Stella McCartney are among the designers featured at a pre-owned fashion auction by Laois auctioneer Sean Eacrett on December 11. Over the past three years pre-owned fashion sales have grown 21 times faster than retail fashion. Sean Eacrett plans to make this sale a twice yearly event. The sale gets underway online at 10 a.m. on November 27 and there are 712 lots on the catalogue.
Lot 70 is a special pairing of Jimmy Choo nude leather shoes and clutch bag, UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 640 AT HAMMER
This portrait of a young lady with a blue scarf is the catalogue cover lot for the James Adam sale of Fine Asian Art in Dublin next Tuesday (November 23). It is by Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000) who graduated from the fine arts school of Hanoi in 1931, in which year he participated in the Paris International Exhibition. He settled in France where he was mostly known for his sculpture. Influenced by Fauvism and the Paris School his creations lie on the edges of Asian traditions, particularly Chinese and Vietnamese art. This c1950 portrait is estimated at €30,000-€50,000. The sale of 440 lots is split into four sections, Arts of China and Himalaya, Arts of Vietnam and South-East Asia, Asian Painters and Arts of Japan and Korea.
THIS extremely rare copy of the First Printing of the Final Text of the United States Constitution sold for $43.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York last night. Making more than double the $20 million high estimate it set a world auction record for any book, manuscript, historical document, or printed text. The sale followed an eight minute bidding battle. The underbidder was Constitution DAO, a group of more than 17,000 people from around the world who banded together through social media within the last week to raise money to acquire the document, marking this cryptocurrency effort as the largest crowdfunding initiative ever put together. It is one of just 13 known copies of the official printing produced for the delegates to Constitutional Convention and for the Continental Congress, and only two copies of the first printing of the Constitution that remains in private hands. Full proceeds from the sale will benefit The Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation, whose mission is to further the understanding of the constitutional principles and how the acts of all citizens can impact our democracy.
**The previous world auction record for any printed text was $14,165,000 for the Bay Psalm Book sold at Sotheby’s New York in 2013
**The previous world auction record for any book and manuscript was $30,802,500 for The Codex Leicester sold at Christie’s in 1994
**The previous world auction record for any historical document was $21.3 million for the 1297 Magna Carta sold at Sotheby’s in 2007.
