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There is something for collectors at all levels at the James Adam sale of period interiors and collectibles in Dublin on September 12.  The sale of 668 lots will feature silver, art, porcelain, collectible items, mirrors and antique furniture.  Here is a small selection. The catalogue is on-line.

LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY (1887-1976). Industrial Streetscape with Figures. Colour print published in 1974 by Venture Prints Ltd. (500-700)

CONTINENTAL SCHOOL, c.1900 Portrait Miniature of a Reclining Female (150-200)

A GEORGE II COFFEE POT, London 1738, mark of Thomas Farren (2,000-3,000).

A COLLECTION OF MOORCROFT POTTERY (200-300)

A GEORGE IV MAHOGANY BOWFRONT CHEST (300-500).

PATRICK COPPERWHITE Hunting Scene, oil on canvas (600-1,000).

Fine and decorative arts from the 16th to the 20th centuries will feature at Sotheby’s inaugural “Collections” auction in London on September 27.  The sale of English and Continental furniture, clocks, tapestries, rugs, silver, Chinese export porcelain, sculpture and Old Master Paintings will feature 306 lots. Estimates range from £500 to £100,000.

Mario Tavella, Deputy Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe and Henry House, Senior Director and Head of Department, English Furniture, commented: “We are delighted to present the first of our “Collections” auctions, which have been designed to offer our decorative arts and furniture clients a completely new perspective. Here, carefully curated in one auction, we have, in effect, discrete single owner sales, each offering historic, fresh to the market works, which should delight the decorator, connoisseur and collector alike.” The auction has a combined estimate of more than £1.7 million.  Here is a small selection. You can click on any image to enlarge it.  UPDATE:  THE AUCTION REALISED £1,984,752.

An elegant pair of George III carved giltwood elbow chairs by England’s greatest cabinet maker, Thomas Chippendale, estimated to realise £20,000-£30,000. UPDATE: THESE MADE £73,250

An allegorical Flemish tapestry from the series depicting the planets after woodcuts by the German artist Georg Pencz. Dating from the mid-sixteenth century the tapestry depicts the sun (Leo) ascending to the heavens in a chariot, and is estimated at £50,000-60,000.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £43,250.

From Plumpton Place, the Lutyens manor house formerly owned by Tom Perkins, comes an eclectic offering reflecting the collecting passions of the legendary venture capitalist. “Neptun”, a solid silver, fully rigged model ship almost a metre high, dating from the early years of the twentieth century, is estimated at £15,000-20,000.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £32,450

Mark Rothko’s Orange, Red, Yellow sold on May 8 for $86,882,500 a world record price for any contemporary work of art sold at auction.

Global sales at Christie’s are up 13% to £2.2 billion ($3.5 billion) on the first six months of 2012.  Growth in on-line activity saw a 15% increase in the number of clients bidding on line and a 20% increase in visitors to the company website.  Collectors from 124 countries registered to bid at global auctions and private sales are up by 53% to £413.4 million.

Post-War and Contemporary art led the categories with auction sales of £576.1 million ($921.8 million) up 34%.  The New York auction on May 8 brought in $388.5 million (£240.9 million) and was the most valuable auction ever in Post-War and Contemporary art. In the first six months of 2012, Christie’s sold 340 works at auction for over $1 million (376 in the same period 2011) and 26 for over $10 million (18 in the same period 2011). The market at more accessible price levels also performed strongly; Christie’s South Kensington saleroom, which offers works of art from under £1,000, built on two consecutive years of record sales and recorded its highest ever total.

Christie’s  chief executive Steven P. Murphy said:  “We’ve seen a steady increase in sales at Christie’s driven by three key factors: growing worldwide demand for art, the quality and curation of important consignments and our consistency in offering the best service and broadest choice to our clients”.

The second half of the year began strongly with the evening auction of Old Master and British Paintings in London on July 3 which realised £85.1 million, a record total for the category. Christie’s will launch the first in a series of online-only auctions for a global collecting category in August with a sale of fine and rare wines. Coinciding with the Olympic Games, Christie’s South Kensington will present The London Sale. An extended public exhibition will start on July 27 and run through to the auction on September 3.