Collection of 10 Midleton Very Rare Irish Whiskeys, 2016 to 2024. UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,800 AT HAMMER
Collectible whiskey is a growing trend. The global market for rare Irish whiskey is moving up and this collection of ten bottles of Midleton Very Rare at Dolan’s timed online auction of art, rare whiskeys and antiques is estimated at €6,000-8,000. The sale runs until August 26 and features a selection of single bottles of rare Irish whiskey along with work by 20th century and contemporary Irish and international artists. The catalogue is online.
Marble altar sculpted by J.F. Davis. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER
This marble altar, sculpted by John Francis Davis in Cork around 1910, comes up at O’Donovans online only sale of the contents of the Redemptorist Esker Monastery near Athenry in Newcastle West on August 24. A total of 315 lots, including church pews, altars, statues, paintings and household effects will come under the hammer. All are to be sold without reserve. There are two altars and a set of altar rails with Celtic Cross motifs by J F Davis in the auction. No estimate has been issued and there is a stipulation that the altars must be removed without causing damage to the building. John Francis Davis was a stone and marble mason born around 1860 in Kilkenny. He had a workshop near College Road in Cork city until 1914 and many of his commissions were ecclesiastical. He left Cork for Belfast in 1914 and started a new business under the name of JFD Malcolm. UPDATE: The second altar made 1,900 and the set of altar rails made 720 (hammer prices).
William Sadler II, c.1782-1839 – POOLBEG LIGHTHOUSE. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
This oil on panel by William Sadler comes up at de Veres timed house contents auction at 25 Wellington Road, Dublin which runs until August 27 with an estimate of €4,000-€6,000. Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin Bay was a favourite subject of the artist. Sadler records the original 1767 appearance of the lighthouse before it was rebuilt to the present design in 1820. Initially lit by candles it became one of the first lighthouses to be illumination by oil light. The auction includes 200 lots of both antique and designer modern furniture to be sold often without reserve and a collection of paintings. The catalogue is online and there will be viewing at Wellington Road from September 23.
George Lothian Hall (1825-1888) – Kenmare at James Adam. UPDATE: THIS MADE 260 AT HAMMER
AN early watercolour of Kenmare, a Waterford Crystal 12 branch chandelier, a diamond riviere necklace, an extremely rare antique Hardy brass face Perfect specimen reel, a white marble inlaid chimney piece and a carved limestone head are among the varied and highly collectible offerings at upcoming sales in Ireland.
Easy and convenient to view these lots are from sales to be held online respectively by Adams in Dublin, Keighery’s of Waterford, Purcell Auctioneers in Birr, Matthews of Kells, Mullens of Laurel Park in Bray and O’Donovans of Newcastle West between now and August 28.
To take the last one first there is bound to be interest from Kerry in an 1886 watercolour of Kenmare by the Liverpool born George Lothian Hall whose paintings can be found in the Yale Centre for British Art. With Kenmare faintly visible in the background it depicts a sailing boat, some other leisure vessels, cattle, cottages and a horse and trap. The estimate at the James Adam At Home sale of 394 lots on August 28 is €2,000-€3,000.
The Waterford chandelier at Keighery’s auction on August 19 is estimated at €4,000-€6,000. This sale of over 650 lots will include items from the Furlong estate of historian and journalist Nicholas and antique dealer Mairead of Wexford. There are antique books of Wexford and Irish history, some attractive furniture, various books on antiques, Imari chargers and collectibles including a sailing ship in a case among a large selection of lots.
A white marble inlaid chimney piece at Mullen’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER
The timed online Classic and Contemporary Interiors sale at Mullen’s of Laurel Park at 6 pm on August 18 offers an inverted breakfront white marble inlaid chimney piece (€2,500-€3,500) as one of its leading pieces. There is furniture, art and lighting on offer in this sale of over 770 lots.
A rare antique Hardy reel at Purcell’s UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER
With an estimate of €2,000-€4,000 an extremely rare Hardy specimen reel leads the sale by Purcell Auctioneers of Birr on August 21. It bears the stamp “B”, believed to be the mark of either Alfred or Frederick Broadley, two highly respected figures in the world of salmon perfect reel making whose contribution to the Hardy legacy is well documented. The leather case is marked P D Mallock, Perth, a firm renowned for producing high quality angling accessories. Purcells say the reel is in very good condition and the brass face remains structurally sound.
If you are seriously interested in the diamond 91 stone riviere necklace at Matthews in Kells on August 21 you must go and see it. There will be viewing from noon to 5 pm on August 18, 19 and 20. It is 42 cm long and the total weight is 22 carats. The estimate is €12,500-€17,500. Even if it is beyond your range the auction offers 524 other lots of jewellery, silver and collectibles including unredeemed pawnbroker pledges and executor instructions.
A carved limestone head (€300-€400) is included in the online only sale at O’Donovans in Newcastle West on August 24. The auction comprises 303 lots from the Redemptorist fathers at Esker Monastery, Athenry, Co. Galway. Among them are sets of Stations of the Cross, statues, altars and no less than five sets of five pitch pine church pews with carved ends (€100-€150 a set). All will be offered without reserve.
A 91 stone diamond riviere necklace at Matthews. UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,200 AT HAMMER
Sean Keating – Study for An Allegory. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The pointlessness of civil war, specifically the Irish civil war, is the inspiration for this watercolour and charcoal study by Sean Keating. Based on his famous An Allegory at the National Gallery and unseen in public for many years it comes up at Dolan’s timed online auction which runs until August 26 with an estimate of €60,000-€80,000. Central to the painting is a mother and her baby, wrapped in white for purity and innocence. The figure is Sean Keating’s wife May in the guise of Mother Ireland. Keating portrays himself at her side, weary of the destruction of the Civil War which followed the War of Independence.
The catalogue for the sale, which features Irish art including a watercolour titled A Limerick Farm (1929) by Harry Kernoff and Salthill Diving Boards by Susan Cronin, rare Irish Midleton and Jameson whiskey along with wine, stamps, books and collectibles including a wooden rocking horse, is online.
Harry Kernoff – A Limerick Farm (1929). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This Empire style pier table made €160 at Adams in June.
Beautiful, green, sustainable and unwanted …. good antique furniture continues to offer spectacular value to consumers. Armed with just €100 euro you can pick something up at many sales. The choice widens considerably with €300, €500 or €1,000. Disinclined to believe me? There are lots of examples from auctions in the first half of the year in Ireland as follows:
An Empire style circular pier table with brass sphinx head capitals sold for a hammer price of just €160 at the last At Home sale at James Adam in Dublin in June. At the same auction a 19th century circular convex mirror surmounted by an eagle with outstretched wings made €320, a Victorian walnut and parquetry games table made €130 and a Victorian mahogany hall chair made €170.
This George III bureau made €150 at Sheppards in May.
At Sheppards Great Irish Interiors sale in May a 19th century pine pedestal plant stand made €50 at hammer, an Irish 19th century drop leaf kitchen table made €90, a George III mahogany wash stand made €160 and a George III writing bureau sold for €150.
At Woodwards in Cork in April an Edwardian occasional table on tripod base made €40, a Victorian Sutherland table made €90, a Victorian chest on stand made €120 and a Victorian lowboy with herringbone crossbanding made €140. At Marshs in June a two tier centre table made €40, a French escritoire made €120 and a Victorian lady’s work table made €160.
This Victorian lowboy made €140 at Woodwards in April.
An Edwardian oak hall stand made €90 at Lynes and Lynes in April, a Victorian dressing table made €100, an antique side table made €160, a Victorian circular dining table made €50 and a Victorian dumb waiter made €140.
An Edwardian four tier waterfall what not sold for €40 at Fonsie Mealy in February, while at an auction in Castlecomer in May a Georgian glazed bookcase made €210, a Pembroke table made €170 and a Victorian walnut lady’s work table made €180.
The late Cork auctioneer Joe Woodward once remarked that: “There is a bargain at every auction”. That was then and this is now. When it comes to good serviceable antique furniture that has already given years of service and is ready for much more many bargains can be found at every sale nowadays. The prices quoted here are hammer prices and do not include auctioneers fees, but fees on €100 euro do not amount to much. Some auctioneers will even refuse to accept some furniture for sale. Who can blame them? When pieces do not attract any bids and are unsold they must be returned and carriage costs money.
This Victorian dining table made €50 euro at Lynes and Lynes in April.
Not everything is unwanted. Some furniture is sought after and some particularly good pieces make lots of money. Just last October a pair of c1760 George II carved giltwood armchairs, one with a Strahan label, made $152,400 (€139,949) at Sotheby’s in New York. It helps when something is exceptional, with impeccable provenance and preferably a celebrity owner or two.
A CORK REGENCY TRIPLE PANEL OVER MANTLE MIRROR. UPDATE: THIS MADE 220 AT HAMMER
Garden furniture, art, silver, antique furniture and collectibles will feature in an online sale by Hegarty’s in Bandon on August 14. A Regency triple over mantle mirror with an R & W Clarke of Cork label is estimated at €300-€600 and there is an estimate of €900-€1,200 for an oil by John Morris entitled Brittas Bay. The auction gets underway at 5 pm.
AN ARTS AND CRAFTS OAK DRESSER. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER
The timeless aesthetic and commitment of the Arts and Crafts movement is evident in this oak dresser which comes up as lot 277 at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on August 28 with an estimate of 1,000-1,500. This is a timed online sale with 401 lots and it will be on view at St. Stephen’s Green from Saturday, August 24. There is art, silver, collectibles, antique furniture, Oriental rugs, porcelain and even a collection of Scottish Freemasons regalia belonging to life member William Kirkhope. The catalogue is online.
18TH CENTURY CORK GEORGE III SILVER SAUCE BOAT, BY JOHN SHEEHAN. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,550 AT HAMMER
This c 1770 heavy silver sauce boat by John Sheehan, Cork comes up at Hegarty’s online sale in Bandon on July 31. With punch mark details to the rim, triple scroll handle and tripod legs it weighs 262 grams. The estimate is 1,500-2,000. The auction offers a selection of garden furniture, art, antiques, silver and collectibles including an Edwardian secretaire bookcase, a vintage cast iron garden seat, a pair of Cantonese double gourd vases and a vintage iron armillary spear on corinthian column base.
19th century Irish yew wood centre table. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
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.
