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.
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 Making more than double the $20 million high estimate it set a world auction record for any book, manuscript, historical document, or printed text.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.
Eric Clapton’s guitar, Kurt Cobain’s handwritten setlists and Whitney Houston’s multi-print Versace jacket are among the star-powered music memorabilia at Julien’s Auctions Icons and Idols live and online sale from the Hard Rock Cafe, New York on November 19 and 20. Clapton’s 1968 Martin D-45 acoustic instrument is reckoned to $300,000 to $500,000. According to Martin Nolan of Julien’s this estimate is probably conservative.
Nearly 1,000 sensational artefacts and memorabilia owned and used by some of the world’s legendary music artists of all-time including The Beatles, Guns N’ Roses, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Robert Plant, Elvis Presley, Trent Reznor, Keith Richards, Eddie Van Halen, U2, and others will be offered.
This fine and very rare £20 Lady Lavery note from the Central Bank of Ireland with a War Code from 1943 comes up at Dix Noonan Webb in London on November 25 with an estimate of £4,000-£5,000. It is a highlight from the collection of the late Gus Mac Amhlaigh of Dublin. Most of his collection is Irish and will be auctioned in several parts over the next year. It also contains groups from Scotland and the Isle of Man. Lots 196 to 334 in the November sale are from his collection. Gus Mac Amhlaigh began collecting banknotes in the early 1970’s. A civil servant he moved from the Department of the Environment to the Custom House Docks Development Authority. He was a key figure in formulating the first masterplan for the Dublin Docklands, primarily focused the International Financial Services Centre. He was responsible for the largest ever regeneration scheme in the history of the State. More than 21,000 people are now employed in the docklands and a further 22,000 people live in the area. He left the Docklands Authority in 1999 and became ceo of the Irish Pension Unit Trust, one of the largest property funds in the country. He worked there until his retirement in 2007 and then joined the board of directors of the commercial estate agents, Bannon Commercial.
The jewellery collection of the late Marie Conway comes up online at an evening sale at Sheppards in Durrow on November 18. Marie who passed away in 2009, was a well- known face, whose auburn hair, flamboyant style of dress, unusual jewellery and sense of humour, singled her out at auctions and antique fares around Munster and beyond for decades. Lot on offer range from a diamond tennis bracelet to a white gold and peridot diamond drop pendant to a three stone diamond ring. The catalogue is online and there will be viewing on November 17 and 18.
An unpublished archive that celebrates the “The Gorgeous Wrecks” – a group of over-military age men who defended Dublin’s Beggars Bush Barracks’ during the Easter Rising of 1916 comes up at Dix Noonan Webb in London on November 10. Lot 232 includes the inter-War C.B.E. (Civil), 1916 ‘Easter Rising – Defence of Beggars Bush Barracks’ D.S.O., Great War O.B.E. (Military) group of eight awarded to Major and Adjutant George Arthur Harris of Dublin University Officer Training Corps, Territorial Force, who led his poorly armed column of above age military reservists in a week long defence of Beggars Bush Barracks during the 1916 Rising.
It will be sold with an important archive of related material including the recipient’s unpublished diary of the Defence, written during the siege on ‘Beggars Bush, Dublin’ headed writing paper. As he commented “The whole business was horrible, as one never knew who was for or against you. An innocent looking civilian would walk past the barracks, see our position and then go to a house and snipe. The fighting in France I think was infinitely preferable to this and in this others concur.” The lot is estimated to fetch £8,000-12,000. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £18,000
This Georgian mahogany hunt table is lot 69 at Mullen’s Classic and Contemporary Interiors online sale which ends from 6 pm on November 7. The estimate is €500-700. There are 602 lots on the catalogue and they can all be found on Easy Live Auctions. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,550 AT HAMMER
These Boules chairs by Jean Royere achieved €1,292,000 at Christie’s Paris sale of he Collection Daniel Lebard : Through the Prism of Modernity on November 3. The world record price was achieved over an estimate of 300,000-500,000. The auction realised a total of €31,607,000, almost three times the presale estimate. The collection of design, photography and contemporary art was sold 100% by value and 97% by lot. With registered bidders from 32 countries the sale achieved new world auction records for 24 artists including Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Paulin and Takis.
The Table de bibliotheque eclairante created by Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and Andre Salomon for the Maison de la Médecine in 1951 made €1,016,000 ; the Tête à lumière, a remarkable ceramic lamp by André Borderie which made €325,000, thirteen times its presale estimate ; the Papillon chair by Matthieu Matégot sold for €206,250, five times its presale estimate and the Elysée pair of armchairs by Pierre Paulin quadrupled their estimate and made €200,000. New world auction records were also set for Bertrand Lavier, Michel Buffet, Edouard Wilfred Buquet, Daniel Firman, Morten Løbner Espersen, Hans Luckhardt, André Lurcat, Serge Mouille, Kirstin McKirdy, Barbara Nanning, Nicolas Schöffer, Huge Perignem, Philippe Pradalié, Maurice Pré, Ron Nagle, Bente Skjöttgaard, Roger Tallon, Valérie Belin, Vera Lutter and Raphaël de Villers. The 51 lots by Jean Prouvé made €11,195,000.
THIS large Chinese Qing jade vase and cover with an estimate of 4,000-6,000 made a hammer price of 33,000 at the first day of Sheppards Barrettstown House online sale today. Pale celadon to white in colour and of rectangular baluster for it has raised interlaced decoration to the upper register. It is furnished with elephant scroll ring handles and raised on a moulded foot. The auction continues on November 3.