This 19th century Irish centre table in yew wood is at Sean Eacrett’s July fine art and antiques sale which gets underway at 10 am on July 27. Complete with brass inlaid top and rectangular platform base the auctioneer reckons it was probably made in Killarney. The estimate is 1,000-1,500 and this is the most expensively estimated piece in an auction of more than 800 lots including 264 lots of traditional and contemporary furniture. The catalogue is online.
Fenders are having a moment at auction in Ireland. This good quality brass club fender made 2,000 at hammer on the opening night of Victor Mee’s three day decorative interiors and art sale in Belturbet, Co. Cavan last night. Just last week a large Cork regency brass fender made 1,300 at hammer at Sheppards three day sale of contents from St. Austins, Gorey, Co. Wexford. And a brass and leather club fender made 1,500 at last nights sale. The auction by Victor Mee continues this evening and tomorrow.
Dono sofa by Rolf Benz. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER
Untitled Blue by Basil Blackshaw (€2,000-€4,000) heads the summer online auction of more than 150 lots of art and design at de Veres. A Rolf Benz sofa in red leather with integrated coffee table is the leading design lot and is estimated at €1,000-€2,000. The timed online auctions runs until July 24. UPDATE: THE BLACKSHAW MADE 1,300 AT HAMMER.
Exceptional wrought iron conservatory in the Victorian style. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The three day auction by Victor Mee next week is the sort of sale where bidders at all price points can let the imagination run riot. An exceptional wrought iron Victorian style conservatory (€20,000-€30,000) might be just the thing for a buyer with big bucks. On the other hand a pair of brass electrified wall lights from the Orient Express at just €100-€200 should be within reach of most buyers.
The decorative interiors and garden sale live online on July 23, 24 and 25 at 5.30 pm on each day offers more than 1,300 lots and even includes a collection of rare gold coins and bullion.
A large Italian carved and patinated wood console table in the Neoclassical style UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD. The Maison Jansen table lamp made 1,500 at hammer
There is a selection of Italian pieces including two quality carved and patinated wood consoles in the Neoclassical style (€2,000-€4,000 each), a carved demi-lune console table with verde antico marble top (€2,000-€4,000), a selection of framed pressed flowers dated 1913 in patinated wooden frames (€500-€800), a brass cushion mirror (€300-€600), two circular Italian designer gilt wall mirrors (€300-€600) and a pair of Italian patinated pine table lamps (€150-€250).
Pair of Orient Express electrified wall lights. UPDATE: THESE MADE 400 AT HAMMER
The sale offers lots of scope to set the imagination free outdoors too, especially useful in a summer like this when the efforts of so many gardeners have been frustrated by the weather. Statues, fountains, carved lions, bronze animals, terracotta urns in rococo style, wrought iron gazebos with ivy leaf decoration, fire pits, sundials and birdbaths won’t suffer from stormy weather like tender plants do. They add interest in all seasons. The selection of outdoor stuff in this sale is extensive and ranges in style from ancient to contemporary.
Anyone for a 19th century Carrara marble carved outdoor bath or a large carved limestone wall fountain? How about an attractive bronze sculpture of flying ducks in bullrushes or a bronze sculpture of a figure in the style of Henry Moore. Unusual and distinctive lots like these can be found here, and much more besides.
An Irish Georgian mahogany and brass door lock. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An Irish Georgian door lock is always of interest to collectors. A statuary marble fireplace with jasper inlay, a pair of granite gate posts, an Irish Georgian brass grate and a 19th century wrought iron field gate will create much interest among particular categories of bidder.
There is furniture to appeal to a variety of tastes, from a spiral brass bound peat bucket and military campaign chests to a French painted pine pantry cupboard, an Italian walnut credenza in Art Deco style, a 19th century Swedish painted pine two door cabinet, a folding butlers tray coffee table, an Irish oak settle bench, a Japanese lacquered work table, an Art Nouveau painted pine arch, a Venetian glass and giltwood chest of drawers, a Killarney wood bible box and a bleached oak kitchen table on turned legs with a single stretcher.
This is a sale where you can easily find something different to add interest either inside or outside. The catalogue is online. Enjoy the hunt.
HANDMADE FLOOR RUG, by V’SOSKE JOYCE, GALWAY. UPDATE: THIS MADE 900 AT HAMMER
A large handmade floor rug by V’Soske Joyce, Galway from Cabinet Pinto, Paris is at de Veres summer online auction of more than 150 lots of art and design which runs until July 24. V’Soske Carpets was established over 70 years ago in Michigan, by a firm of artisans, producing beautiful high quality handmade carpets and tapestries to special order. Plans to expand into the European market were realised when Vesta V’Soske had a chance encounter with two local entrepreneurs in Oughterard, Co. Galway. A collaboration with James Joyce and Burke Monaghan resulted in a factory in the name of V’Soske Joyce being established in Oughterard. Here a team of skilled craftsmen practising the renowned V’Soske hand tufting technique has been operating ever since.
The company renamed the Dixon Carpet Company, when it was bought by Michael Dixon in 1979, only uses 100% pure new wool yarns which are chosen and dyed specially for each design. All dyeing of the wool is carried out by the firm itself providing the control that makes possible the creation of more than four thousand shades of colour. The company has provided rugs and carpets to many royal families and governments worldwide as well as many luxury hotels, including the Dorchester, the Ritz Paris and the Shelbourne in Dublin. This rug is estimated at €800-€1,200.
19th century gilt framed overmantle UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A contents auction is always a draw so it would be wise to anticipate plenty of bidders and buyers to see treasures aplenty at elegant 18th century St. Austin’s, Coolgreaney, Co. Wexford.
More than 1,390 lots from this beautifully restored and modernised two storey over basement period home dating to 1763 will come under the hammer at Sheppards in Durrow on July 16, 17 and 18. There will be viewings at the house, located between Gorey and Arklow, today, tomorrow and next Monday from 10 am to 5 pm on each day.
A pair of 18th century console tables UPDATE: THESE MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
Art and furniture highlights include Achill Island by Grace Henry last sold at Sotheby’s in 2007 (€8,000-€14,000), On the Liffey and The Monastery Wall by Letitia M Hamilton and Gathering Turf by James Humbert Craig (all €5,000-€8,000), a pair of 18th century parcel gilt console tables (€5,000-€8,000), a 19th century large carved giltwood overmantle mirror and an 18th century Dublin longcase clock by William Edwards (both €3,000-€5,000), a c1820 French Restoration ormolu and bronze mantle clock (€1,500-€2,500) and a large Cork Regency brass fender (€1,400-€1,800).
The property which has been sold was home for over 30 years to Alan and Aine Deacon, who had lived in Hong Kong for some time. This is reflected in an eclectic collection of Irish, European and Oriental art and furniture as well as early Irish cartography and collectibles. Much of the furniture, of which there is lots, was acquired from the sale of the original contents when St. Austin’s was home to Major and Mrs. H M E Grogan.
Chinese Famille Jaune table lamp UPDATE: THIS MADE 360 AT HAMMER
Included is a collection of Bordeaux wines, rare whiskeys, kitchenalia, contents of the stables, out offices, garden furniture and statuary. There are some rare edition Snaffles prints (€6,000-€8,000) and the most expensively estimated lot is a white gold Art Deco target ring with sapphires and a three carat diamond (€25,000-€35,000). A Dun Emer Donegal Phoenix carpet, a Mughal hand woven carpet, a Sarouk Tree of Life Carpet and a Persian Kirman carpet are all estimated at €5,000-€8,000.
The garden selection includes urns, furniture, planters, lighting and ornaments. Irish vernacular lots include a settle bed, chairs, stools and some pewter and metal tankards. There are two Japanese silk embroidered wedding kimonos (€100-€150 each), a good selection of various sorts of lighting, 33 lots of wines and spirits, two vintage telephones, 37 lots of arms and armour and a selection of antique boxes. Sales, broken into five sessions for the convenience of bidders, get underway in Durrow and online at 10 am on Tuesday.
One of a pair of large neo-classical garden urns UPDATE: THESE MADE 3,400 AT HAMMER
A pair of London silver waiters dated 1771 UPDATE: THESE MADE 500 AT HAMMER
Much interest at Aidan Foley’s sale in Kilcolgan next week will centre around a number of lots consigned from the estate of the late Lady Trina Stanhope of Adare. The daughter of the 11th Earl of Harrington and Ann Chute died unexpectedly in March. There is a small selection of silver headed by a pair of London silver waiters from 1771 (€800-€1,200), paintings by George Gillespie and Maurice Wilks, equestrian art, collectibles and garden implements from the collection of a keen gardener who was based at Castleroberts, Adare.
There is value to be had in furniture at this auction but in the current climate of closures there must be a question mark over whether a stand alone restaurant counter will attract a whole lot of competitive bidding. A fully fitted rather stylish serving counter – lot 1000 out of a total of 1490 – is estimated at €2,000-€4,000. The online antiques and interiors auction takes place on July 15, 16 and 17 from 5 pm on each day.
Cork Regency brass fender. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,300 AT HAMMER
Sheppards will offer contents from St. Austins, Gorey, Co. Wexford on July 16 and 17 with viewing on the premises on July 13 and 14. More than 1,300 lots will be on offer and highlights include a large 19th century gilt overmantle, an 18th century Dublin longcase clock, a large Cork brass fender and art by Letitia M Hamilton, James Humbert Craig and Grace Henry. The sale will be held in Durrow and the catalogue is online now.
The Sunlit Valley, The Rosses, Co. Donegal by James Humbert Craig. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,000 AT HAMMER
Art as an event in the Olympic Games was abandoned after 1948 because artists were considered to be professional and the games were for amateurs. That was then and this is now so our professional golfers Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, both qualified to represent Ireland at the games this year which get underway in Paris on July 26, have nothing to worry about.
At a time from 1912 to 1948 when medals were awarded for painting and sculpture inspired by sport, as well as to musicians, writers and architects, the northern Irish artist James Humbert Craig (1877-1944) was part of the Painting Event at the 1932 summer olympics in Los Angeles. He did not win but his landscapes are very highly regarded. One of them, an oil on canvas titled The Sunlit Valley, Rosses, Co. Donegal, will lead Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer art sale in Castlecomer on July 10 with an estimate of €6,000-€8,000. It is the most expensively estimated artwork at the sale.
The auction, on view in Castlecomer next Monday and Tuesday, features 345 lots of Irish and international art and sculpture along with Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian paintings.
Athlone Castle by James Lawson Stewart. UPDATE: THIS MADE 300 AT HAMMER
A topographical View of Athlone in 1853 from an elevated site attributed to George Vincent Cole is estimated at €300-€400 and a watercolour of Athlone Castle by British artist James Lawson Stewart (1829-1911) shows many features now disappeared (€400-€500). A hand coloured print of Edinburgh Castle from Holyrood House by Charles Windsor, now King of England, signed and dated on the lower right, is estimated at €800-€1,000. There is a similar estimate on an abstract landscape attributed to Andre Lhote.
Lot 261 is a bronze bust of Roger Casement attributed to Marshall Hutson. Though unsigned it is similar in style to the work of the Cork artist who died in 2001 and is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. Among his sculpted works is the stone crest of the City of Cork at the headquarters of Cork Harbour Commissioners at Custom House Street in Cork.
Ar an Costa by Daniel Corkery (1878-1964). UPDATE: THIS MADE 360 AT HAMMER
Ar an Costa is a watercolour of a coastal scene with figures on a beach by Daniel Corkery (1878-1964), a close friend of Terence McSwiney who became Professor of English at UCC in 1930. One of a group who established the Cork Dramatic Society in 1908 he wrote plays and short stories, played the cello, took night classes in painting at the Crawford and was author of The Hidden Ireland, a 1924 study of the poetry of 18th century Irish language poetry in Munster. Lot 44 at Mealy’s is estimated at €180-€220 and was formerly in the collection of An t’Athair Eric Mac Fhinn (1895-1987) of Galway.
There is a portrait of Walter Osborne by Augustus Burke (€3,000-€4,000), a pencil sketch of John O’Leary at trial by John Butler Yeats (€400-€500), a watercolour of the Rock of Cashel by Patrick Hennessy (€400-€600) and an oil of Country Cottages, Ireland c1810 by William Mulready (€700-€1,000) among a selection on offer that is both varied and affordable.
The sale will be on view in Castlecomer on July 8 and 9 and will begin at 2 pm on July 10. The catalogue is online. Nowadays the Venice Biennale is often referred to informally as the Olympics of art.
GEORGE I BURR MAPLE BUREAU BOOKCASE. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600 AT HAMMER
In Dublin James Adam will offer this George I burr maple bookcase in a timed online warehouse auction on July 10. The estimate is 2,000-4,000 and a starting bid of 200 is being sought at this stage. The bookcase is to be sold without reserve. In the manner of Coxted and Woster it is in three sections with arched mirrored doors, a fitted interior and a slope front desk. The sale will be on view in Dublin on July 8 and 9 and the catalogue, with 316 lots, is online.
