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GREAT RESULTS FROM SOTHEBY’S, OUTLOOK GOOD

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Sotheby’s delivered net income of $161.0 million in 2010, which apart from peak of the boom 2007 is the best yearly result ever. “It is a remarkable accomplishment,” said Bill Ruprecht, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The recovery of the global art market which was aided in part by the increased buying activity of clients from new markets certainly contributed to these results, as did the difficult decisions we had to make beginning in the autumn of 2008 – the headcount reduction, tightening of our cost structure and steadfast focus on auction commission margins – which have paid off considerably.

The positive moment is continuing into 2011. “Overall, aggregate auction sales through the first two months of 2011 solidly improved from the first two months of 2010. We hope that 2011 will be another strong year for Sotheby’s and for the art market,” Bill Ruprecht said.

Tags: art market, results, sotheby's
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SELECTION FROM HEGARTY’S AUCTION IN BANDON

Saturday, February 19th, 2011

Here is a sample of lots coming up at Hegarty’s sale in Bandon , Co. Cork on Sunday, February 27 at 4 p.m. This is a sale of more than 350 lots including furntiure, art, ceramics, jewellery and silver.

This Georgian knife box is estimated at 800-1,200. (click to enlarge)

An early 20th century majolica stick stand with heron, estimated at 800-1,200. (click to enlarge)

An Edwardian inlaid envelope foldover card table (1,000-1,500). Click to enlarge.

This Wedgwood cheese dish and cover, with hairline crack to base, is estimated at 300-500. (click to enlarge)

A Victorian walnut dome topped brass-bound stationery box estimated at 250-350. (click to enlarge)

Tags: auctions, Bandon, Hegarty's
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BURGES GOTHIC REVIVAL SETTLE SOLD FOR £850,000

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

The Zodiac settle by William Burges. (click on image to enlarge)

A piece of Gothic Revival furniture with unique architectural, artistic and literary connections has been sold for £850,000. The Zodiac settle was designed by the leading 19th century architect William Burges (1827 – 1881). Once owned by John Betjeman and Evelyn Waugh, it has just been sold by the Waugh family.

Built around 1869 the ornate canopied bench combines the form of an Italian Reniassance day-bed. Burges, whose first major commission was for St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral in Cork in 1863, installed the settle in his home at Tower House in Holland Park, London. It was acquired by Betjeman in 1961 when he acquired the remaining short lease on Tower House. He gave it to Evelyn Waugh.

Because of its significance the settle was subject to a temporary export bar from Britain last year after it was sold to an overseas buyer. Cecil Higgins Art Gallery & Bedford Museum, which houses a collection of Burges furniture, led a fundraising campaign to buy the work. Their campaign was successful thanks to a £480,000 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), £190,000 from the Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and £180,000 from The Art Fund.

The settle will now form the centre piece of the Art Gallery & Museum’s new William Burges Gallery, due to open to the public late in 2012.

Tags: Betjeman, Burges, Waugh, Zodiac settle
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WORLD AUCTION RECORDS FOR BUREAU TABLE AND CHAIR AT CHRISTIE’S

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

This Newport, Rhode Island bureau table made $5.6 million at Christie's, New York, a new world record. (click on image to enlarge) © Christie’s Images Limited 2011

A $5.6 million bureau table and a $662,500 Federal side chair made new world auction records at Christie’s Americana Week 2011 in New York. The Catherine Goddard Chippendale block and shell carved and figured mahogany bureau table c1765 is attributed to John Goddard (1724-1785), Newport, Rhode Island. The desk bears all the unique characteristics that make Newport furniture of this era so highly prized by collectors. It had been estimated at $700,000-900,000. The price paid of $5,682,500 represents a world auction record for the form.

This chair made a new world auction record for a piece of Federal furniture. (click on image to enlarge). © Christie’s Images Limited 2011

The Federal carved mahogany side chair, known as the Elias Hasket Derby chair, has carving attributed to Samuel McIntire (1757-1811) of Salem, Massachusetts. McIntire, one of the earliest architects in America, was influenced by the Palladian style and was skilled at furniture making and sculpture. The chair had been estimated at $30,000-50,000. The price paid represents a world auction record for a piece of Federal furniture.

The combined total for Americana Week 2011 at Christie’s New York was $22,026,376/£13,784,788/€16,222,849, achieved through five sales from January 18 through 25.

Tags: Christie's, furniture, new york, Records
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TEFAF AT MAASTRICHT 2011 OFFERS RARITIES

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

A fragment from an Egyptian water clock.

The last fragment of an Egyptian water clock still in private hands and a painting containing one of the few self portraits by Bernardo Bellotto are among the rarities at The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in 2011.

The 2011 fair at Maastricht in The Netherlands, the 24th, will include over 30,000 objects, all rigorously vetted by an international committee of experts. Maastricht has built its reputation on the unique quality of its exhibits. It will run from March 18 to March 27.

The Egyptian water clock was commissioned by Alexander the Great c332-323 BC. It depicts Alexander offering wine in front of the goddess Hathor. Water clocks were used to measure time in temples, and ensure that rituals were carried out at the appropriate hour. It will be offered for sale by Galerie Harmakhis of Brussels for 150,000 euro.

Architectural Capriccio with a self-portrait of Bellotto in the costume of a Venetian Nobleman depicts the

Architectural Capriccio by Bellotto

lavishly clad artist extending his arm proudly towards the splendid surroundings. Otto Naumann of New York will exhibit the work priced at 8.2 million euro.

In 2011 TEFAF Paper includes a loan exhibition. Wim Pijbes, managing director at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, will bring his personal choice of late 15th century works on paper from the museum’s collection. Directors Choice, the Happy Hunter will show prints and drawings with a hunting theme. TEFAF is the best hunting place for professional and private collectors, Wim Pijbes remarked.

Everything at the fair, which covers antiques, paintings, antiquities, modern design, jewellery, paper and manuscripts, is covered by 28 specialist vetting committees. All modern and contemporary art is also vetted.

Tags: Maastricht, TEFAF
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TREASURES ABOUND AT WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Pieces from the Historic Charleston Association loan exhibition. (click to enlarge)

Treasures ranging from an ancient Egyptian relief of Akhenaten through to the mid 20th century furniture by Gerald Summers and Gio Ponti are to be showcased in America’s most prestigious antiques show.

The Winter Antiques Show in New York provides museums, collectors, dealers, design professionals and first- time buyers with opportunities to see and purchase exceptional pieces showcased by 74 exhibitors. Located at the Park Avenue Armory, 67th Street and Park Avenue, New York it runs from January 21-30, 2011. This Armory Show celebrates its 57th year in 2011 with newly joined specialists in 17th to 19th century American furniture and decorative arts, old master drawings and European sculpture, and Southeast Asian art.

The 2011 loan exhibition of masterworks is presented by the Historic Charleston Foundation and highlights more than fifty objects. Important pieces from Historic Charleston Foundation’s two museum houses will be complemented with loans from The Charleston Museum, Drayton Hall, Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association, and Middleton Place Foundation. These include some works on view for the first time.

Tags: Armory, new york, Winter Antiques Show
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EILEEN GRAY SCREEN SELLS, Sirène ARMCHAIR UNSOLD

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

Eileen Gray painted wood brick screen made $842,000 at Christie's in New York.

Estimated at $2/$3 million, this Eileen Gray armchair failed to sell in New York.

An Eileen Gray painted wood brick screen from 1923 made $842,500 at Christie’s in New York on December 14. This was within the $700,000 – $1,000,000 estimate. Christie’s described the piece, composed of 45 large and ten small white painted wood panels on steel rods, as: “defining the key point of transition between her early engagement with the luxury of lacquer and symbolist motifs and her subsequent commitment to Modernist ideals”.

The screen was one of a pair presented by Miss Gray at the Salon des Artistes Déorateurs in 1923. The other one is now at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

The ‘Sirène’ armchair, a lacquered painted and beech armchair by Eileen Gray which was estimated at $2/$3 million, failed to sell. Bidding reached $1.7 million, at which point it was withdrawn.

See post for December 3 on antiquesandartireland.com

Tags: Christie's, Eileen Gray, new york
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NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR A PIECE OF ENGLISH FURNITURE

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

The Harrington Commode made a new world record for a piece of English furniture at auction. (click to enlarge)

THE Harrington Commode, dating to circa 1770, made a new record for a piece of English furniture at auction at Sotheby’s in London on December 8. It sold for £3,793,250 over an estimate of £600,000-£1 million. The serpentine commode was almost certainly crafted by Thomas Chippendale.

It exceeded the previous world record for any piece of English furniture at auction by over £1 million. Sotheby’s said it set an exciting new benchmark for English furniture. The George III commode, previously housed at Elvaston Castle, Derbyshire, was sold by order of the Trustees of the 10th Earl of Harrington’s Will Trust. Lord Harrington had extensive Irish estates. His son, the 11th Earl, who died in 2009, was an Irish citizen and successful horse breeder who maintained studs in Ireland. He had links to the Royal Family through the marriage of his grand-daughter, Serena Stanhope to the furniture maker Viscount Linley, son of the late Princess Margaret and nephew of Queen Elizabeth.

The Harrington Commode was part of an Important Furniture, Ceramics, Clocks, Silver & Vertu sale which made £6,216,750. Henry House, Head of English Furniture at Sotheby’s, commented: “This remarkable commode which is outstandingly beautiful in both form and condition, was keenly contested by five bidders, the final price demonstrating true demand in the market for items of real quality, and I feel is justly deserved for an item that has been an honour to sell.”

The previous world record for a piece of English furniture at auction belonged to a George II Parcel-Gilt Padouk Cabinet-on-Stand attributed to Thomas Chippendale, 1755-1760, which sold for £2,729,250 at Christies in June 2008.

Tags: antique auction, English furniture, Harrington commode, Record, sotheby's
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EILEEN GRAY AT CHRISTIE’S SALE OF THE GOURDON COLLECTION IN PARIS

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Eileen Gray's Black lacquer screen, courtesy of Christie's, estimated at up to 1.5 million euro. (click to enlarge) UPDATE: IT MADE 1,353,000

IRISH designer Eileen Gray (1879-1976) is one of the leading names featured

The Bibendum armchair by Eileen Gray, courtesy of Christie's images. (click to enlarge) UPDATE: IT MADE 709,000

in an extraordinary collection to be sold at Christie’s in Paris in March 2011. Christie’s will offer the Gourdon Collection, estimated to achieve between 40 and 60 million euro, at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris on March 29, 30 and 31.

Housed at the medieval Château de Gourdon near Grasse the collection focuses principally on the classicism of Art Deco and on the emergence of Modernism in France. It includes an important group of works by Eileen Gray. Celebrated as a single-minded and individualistic character the County Wexford born designer managed to capture and express in her own way the prevailing spirit of the age in design through the first decades of the 20th century.

In February 2009 her ‘dragons’ chair, circa 1917-1919 – see Design Record on antiquesandartireland.com – achieved the record sum of €21 million at the sale of the Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Bergé collections at the Grand Palais.

In the early 1920s Gray choose to move away from the highly refined lacquer work of her early days to focus on more functionalist designs in metal, glass and painted wood, inspired at first by the Modernist ideas of the Dutch De Stjil movement.

No less than 15 works by Eileen Gray featured in this sale include the black lacquered Brick’ screen (est. 1,200,000-1,500,000) developed from the panels she used in the hallway of the apartment of Suzanne Talbot on Rue de Lota, circa 1922. An example of this screen is now in the master bedroom of the Irish government mansion at Farmleigh in Dublin. The black and yellow base of her floor light (€400,000-600,000) resembles a piece of Constructivist architecture.

Her Transatlantique armchair (€1,000,000-1,500,000) was formerly the property of her friend and collaborator architect Jean Badovici, founder of the avant-garde magazine L’Architecture Vivante, 1923 and the ‘Bibendum’ armchair (€800,000-1,200,000) is clearly evocative of the logo of tire-manufacturer Michelin.

Tags: Christie's, Eileen Gray, Gourdon Collection, Paris
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SHEPPARDS THREE DAY SALE

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

This large famille rose Chinese punch bowl is at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

An early 18th century Irish gilt console table from the Sheppards sale. UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,500

Sheppards three day sale in Durrow, Co. Laois on Tuesday, November 30 and Wednesday and Thursday December 1 and 2 features much of interest to collectors. Among over 1,500 lots there are 96 pieces of Chinese ceramics from the same Co. Carlow private collection which yielded the Qianlong vase which made 110,000 earlier this year.

The early 18th century Irish gilt console table featured here is estimated at 8,000-12,000. The 18th century Irish tea table with circular serpentine scallop carved top is estimated at 5,000-8,000. The Chinese Imari ginger jar is estimated at 2,000-3,000 and the Chinese blue and white dish has an estimate of 50-150. The large Chinese punch bowl, decorated with pheasant and quail in a rocky landscape amid peony blossoms is estimated at 1,400-1,800.

The auction begins each day at 2 p.m.

POSTPONED TWICE DUE TO ADVERSE WEATHER. WILL NOW TAKE PLACE ON DECEMBER 14, 15 and 16

A Chinese Imari ginger jar and matching lid from a private Carlow collection at Sheppards.

This Chinese blue and white dish is at Sheppards.

This 18th century Irish tea table is at Sheppards. UPDATE: IT MADE 5,400

Tags: Chinese, Durrow, furniture, Sheppards
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Archive for the ‘FURNITURE’ Category

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