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  • Archive for the ‘FURNITURE’ Category

    ART NOUVEAU GARNITURE AT FONSIE MEALY SALE

    Thursday, February 15th, 2024
    Art Nouveau Garniture. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER

    This French Art Nouveau mantle clock garniture in red Griotte marble comes up as lot 223 at Fonsie Mealy’s Making Room sale in Castlecomer on February 21. The clock has typical Art Nouveau gilt brass mounts around a painted enamel dial with Arabic numerals and striking on a gong and the estimate is €500-€700. A total of 432 lots will come under the hammer, the catalogue is online and viewing gets underway in Castlecomer on February 19.

    MINING ROMANCE FROM UNREDEEMED PLEDGES AT MATTHEWS

    Saturday, February 10th, 2024
    A diamond set ruby mounted on a platinum ring at Matthews. UPDATE: THIS MADE €2,450 at hammer

    Can romance be mined from unredeemed pledges?  It might be just possible to come up with the answer to this teasing question in time for Valentine’s Day at Matthews jewellery, gold and silver auction on February 11  The sale will feature executor’s lots, pieces from private clients and unredeemed pawnbrokers pledges with plenty to choose from among 593 lots. A ruby diamond set cluster on a platinum ring or an 18 carat white gold diamond set sapphire and ruby brooch, each estimated at €2,500-€3,500, are laden with sparkling romantic potential.  Or if you are not superstitious how about a pear cut sapphire and 13 diamond set pendant (€2,000-€3,000).   There are bracelets, rings, diamond solitaires, necklaces, earrings, chokers, watches and objects of all sorts with which to express your love, so it is over to you.

    A pear cut sapphire and diamond set pendant at Matthews. UPDATE: THIS MADE €1,900 AT HAMMER

    Undoubtedly the best value to be had at auctions these days is in everyday antique furniture.  There is no shortage of choice at upcoming sales.   A classic and contemporary interiors timed online sale by Mullen’s of Laurel Park in Bray kicks off at  6 pm on February 11 with a 19th century cast iron hawthorn pattern garden seat with an estimate of just €200-€300.  A Georgian inlaid side table is estimated at just €600-€800, a pair of 19th century butlers trays on stands come with an estimate of €400-€600 and a vintage satin birch chest is estimated at just €80-€150.

    One of a pair of 19th century butler’s trays at Mullen’s. UPDATE: THIS LOT MADE 520 AT HAMMER

    There are lots of other examples of good value furniture here including  a Georgian demi lune side table (€100-€200), a brass bound secretaire chest (€200-€300), a 19th century three tier dumb waiter (€80-€120), a Georgian drop leaf table (€100-€200) and a Chippendale style mahogany desk (€200-€300). Meanwhile at Newcastlewest in Co. Limerick the sale by O’Donovan’s on February 18 will offer over 300 lots mostly to be sold without reserve.  Among them is an oriental dinner gong with brass hanging drum (€125-€150), a Victorian oak hall stand with bevelled mirror (€40-€60), a New York made mantle clock with pendulum (€40-€60), a Georgian sideboard (€175-€250) and a Georgian tea caddy (€200-€300).  The sale is led by a Peter Curling watercolour titled At the end of the Plough (€1,600-€1,900).

    Cottage in the Maam Valley by Mabel Young at Fonsie Mealy. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER

    Art by Mabel Young (1889-1974), Paul Henry’s second wife, do not crop up very often and Fonsie Mealy’s Making Room sale in Castlecomer on February 21 features an oil on board of a cottage in the Maam Valley signed by her.  It is estimated at €800-€1,200. The top lot in the sale is a large Irish Georgian serving table in the Chinese Chippendale style estimated at €2,000-€3,000.  The catalogues for all these sales are online.

    WHISKEY MEMORABILIA AND LITERARY LINK AT VICTOR MEE

    Saturday, February 3rd, 2024
     A rare Sir John Power and Sons Dublin Whiskey mirror  UPDATE: THIS MADE 12,000 AT HAMMER

    The market for collectibles is strong so there are high expectations around an etched framed Sir John Power and Son Dublin Whiskey advertising mirror at Victor Mee’s sale in Belturbet, Co. Cavan and online. This is a rarity in a sale on February 6 and 7 which will include the pub memorabilia collection of Cannons of Castlebar.  The  gilded lettering is by William Cleland of Belfast and there is an original paper label attached.  Such is the demand  for lots of this calibre that the estimate is a cool €8,000-€12,000.  The mirror is lot 100 in an auction with over 1200 lots due to get underway each day at 5.30 pm.

    An Allman’s of Bandon reverse painted glass advertising sign. UPDATE: THIS MADE 500 AT HAMMER

    Not everything is as expensive as this.  But there should be local interest down south in lot 164, an Allman’s of Bandon Fine Old Irish Whisky reverse painted glass advertising sign with an estimate of just €200-€300.  Allman’s produced whisky, Powers adds an “e” to make it whiskey, which is more generally the spelling used in Ireland.  Either way it is good stuff. Lot 625 is a framed political print of the capture of Thomas Kent in Fermoy and it is estimated at just €50-€80.  He was the only person outside of Dublin apart from Roger Casement to be executed for his role in the Easter Rising and the railway station in Cork, formerly Glanmire Road Station, was renamed Kent Station in his honour in 1966 on the 50th anniversary of the Rising.

    A framed politial print of the capture of Thomas Kent in Fermoy  UPDATE: THIS MADE 60 AT HAMMER

    A sale of memorabilia like this underlines the fast pace of change in the world we live in.  Take pub ashtrays.  Once ubiquitous they seemed to be doled out by sales reps for breweries and distilleries and cigarette manufacturers like snuff at a wake.  They  could be found on every bar counter and table until the smoking ban came into effect in Ireland 20 years ago.  Now they turn up at auctions like this and if you are so inclined you can pick one up for €20 to €40. Lot 295 is a 1930’s sign for Hoey’s Court, Dublin the birthplace of Jonathan Swift, which has since been demolished. The estimate is €150-€250.  The catalogue is online.

    A 1930’s sign for Hoey’s Court, birthplace of Jonathan Swift, which has since been demolished. UPDATE: THIS MADE 340 AT HAMMER

    AUCTION SEASON IN IRELAND READYING FOR LIFT OFF

    Monday, January 29th, 2024
     A Neo-Classical marble chimneypiece at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,200 AT HAMMER

    The antiques season in Ireland is lifting off and those who get their kicks from an auction fix will find plenty of action now that January is almost done.Immediate upcoming choices at Sheppards in Durrow on January 30 and 31and at Woodwards in Cork on February 3 include elegant Georgian and Regency furniture, marble chimney pieces, garden sculpture and furniture, longcase clocks and even an old carved stone statue of St. Peter. If brightening up the home was one of your new year resolutions then these eclectic auctions, on view in Durrow and Cork respectively, offer as good a place as any to begin.  

    Top lots at Sheppards include a Neo-Classical marble chimneypiece (€4,000-€6,000) and an attractive George III satinwood cylinder bookcase (€3,00-€5,000).  More than 700 lots will come under the hammer in this two day sale. Feature lots include a George III sideboard, a pair of Regency tea tables, a Georgian inlaid side table, a classical contemporary Italian Smania display case with figural veneered drawers and open glass shelves, a designer chrome and walnut console table, a 19th century wine cooler and an Indian marriage chest. Among the Chinese selection at Sheppards  are pairs of vases, painted panels, censers, jardinieres, chargers and porcelain vases converted to lamps.  A 19th century French ormolu clock is estimated at €500-€800 and an 18th century giltwood pier mirror has an estimate of €1,400-€1,800.  The catalogue is online and sales get underway each day at 10 am.

    A carved stone statue of St. Peter at Woodwards. UPDATE: THIS MADE 725 AT HAMMER

    Woodwards will begin their 2024 season with a selection of house contents from residences in Blackrock, Rochestown and Belgooly.  Among the more unusual lots is a very old carved statue of St. Peter (€500-€1,000).  There is an estimate of €800-€1,200 on a longcase clock by Harvey of Clonmel and furniture lots include a William IV teapoy (€250-€400), a Georgian walnut chest on chest (€500-€800), a Georgian work table (€300-€400), a Queen Anne inlaid desk (€400-€600) and a small Edwardian walnut bureau (€200-€300).Value in antique furniture continues to be a feature in 2024 and estimates are low on a range of items as diverse as a William IV sewing table, an Edwardian chest of drawers, a quartetto nest of tables, a Victorian card table, a demi lune side table and an Edwardian credenza.  there will be more than 300 lots, including a selection of artworks and the Cook St. auctions rooms are open for viewing from this afternoon.

    PICASSO LITHOGRAPH AT KILCOLGAN AUCTION

    Saturday, January 27th, 2024
    Dove with Yellow Sun, a lithograph by Picasso, at Aidan Foley’s auction in Kilcolgan. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Art by Graham Knuttel, George Gillespie, Markey Robinson, John Kingerlee, Michael Hales and a Picasso lithograph titled Dove with Yellow Sun are feature lots at Aidan Foley’s two day sale at Kilcolgan, Co. Galway on January 29 and 30. The selection among over 1,000 lots will include a pair of Georgian side tables, a Regency pedestal sideboard, a pair of French marble topped bedside lockers, a large pair of porcelain and gilt metal jardinieres, a pair of metal and stained glass Moroccan style lights and a bottle of Jameson Dublin Whiskey bottled by Scotts of Kilkee.  The catalogue is online.

    GOODBYE PEACHTREE ROAD

    Saturday, January 20th, 2024
     An interior shot of Elton John’s Peachtree Road penthouse. (Photograph Visko Hatfield, courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2024.)
    UPDATE: THE PIANO MADE $201,600

    Where does Elton’s future lie?  Let’s not go there.  Suffice to say it is beyond Peachtree Road. The rock star is saying goodbye to his Atlanta condo at Park Place on Peachtree – acquired in 1992 – and Christie’s New York will sell the contents in a series of eight live and online sales beginning on February 21.He began collecting photographs in the 1990’s and there is work by pioneers like Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Peter Beard, Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon and more.Damien Hirst’s Your Song, signed and inscribed to Elton and David is estimated at $350,000-$450,000 (€319,850-€411,230) and a portrait of Elton John by Julian Schnabel is estimated at $200,000-$300,000 (€182,770-€274,150).  There is fashion from his stage wardrobes including an ivory and gold piece designed by Annie Reavey c1971 and vintage Gianni Versace shirts and upholstery.  The sale will offer tableware, decor, a grand piano, art glass, antiques and artefacts from his global travels. Live day sales will continue on February 22 and 23 and online sales open for bidding on February 9 and run to February 27 and 28.

    A GROUP OF SEVEN SILK SHIRTS
    GIANNI VERSACE, CIRCA 1993. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR $30,240

    ARTISTIC FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION UNDER THREAT

    Saturday, January 13th, 2024
    An interior shot of Palazzo Volpi in Venice with contents to be sold by Sotheby’s in Paris.

    Art mirrors life and the life it is currently mirroring is one of censorship and intolerable attacks on freedom of expression.  The art world has not been immune as  the Israeli-Hamas war has spawned a new wave of hidden and not so hidden persuaders who move to stifle anything other than total support for hardliners against humanity. Against this background of global uncertainty there is a pipeline of interesting international sales coming up in 2024.  On offer already are a variety of covetable lots as diverse as the contents of a sumptuous Venetian palace on the Grand Canal to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Archive to a Royal portrait by Velazquez and property from the life and career of Marilyn Monroe.  We must assume that all this will be okay once there is nothing in these auctions – such as seeking a ceasefire in Gaza – that can be construed as anti-semitic.

    A pair of stools or tabourets delivered to the Empress Josephine at Christie’s in New York

    Sotheby’s will offer 200 lots from Palazzo Volpi in Venice at an auction in Paris on February 28. The collection will include palatial Roman tables, ballroom banquettes, art panels in the style of Jacopo Sansovino, Wagner sofas and Venetian mirrors. Julien’s will offer contents from the Playboy archives and from Marilyn Monroe at a three day sale in Los Angeles on March 28, 29 and 30.  Highlights will include a Playboy Bunny silkscreen by Andy Warhol and a black and cellophane effect evening gown worn by Monroe in The Seven Year Itch.  The Velazquez portrait of Isabel de Borbon is at Sotheby’s in New York on February 1.

    A black and cellophane effect evening gown worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch at Julien’s

    Elvis Presley’s Gretsch guitar from his Las Vegas residency is among the lots at Christie’s Exceptional Sale in New York on the same day along with a pair of c1800 tabourets or stools delivered to the Empress Josephine at Chateau de St. Cloud.

    It has the potential to be an exciting year with many records being broken at home and abroad.  Yet in 2024 there are well founded accusations of censorship in an art world that has never been noted for its lack of freedom of expression.  In New York board members and many art writers withdrew in protest after the editor of the prestigious Artforum magazine, David Valasco, was abruptly fired when a letter supporting Palestinian liberation was published which omitted to mention the victims of the Hamas attack on October 7.  Advertisers like gallerist David Zwirner and the Chanel culture fund threatened to withdraw.The Saarland Museum in Germany cancelled an exhibition by Candice Breitz, who is Jewish and has condemned Hamas, saying they would not show works by anyone who does not recognise Hamas terror as a rupture of civilisation.  The entire selection panel for the next curator of Documenta, a global art exhibition in 2027, resigned after disputes with administrators about the war. This mirrors the wider environment.  Think of resignations like that of Harvard President Claudine Gay in a campaign led by the Wall Street Jewish financier Bill Ackman whose wife is a former member of the IDF. You do not need to be a soothsayer to know there will be more resignations. UPDATE: The first American retrospective of Samia Halaby (87), regarded as one of the most important living Palestinian artists, has been cancelled by officials at Indiana University.

    Andy Warhol’s original Playboy Bunny at Julien’s.

    ELTON JOHN’S ATLANTA COLLECTION AT CHRISTIE’S, NEW YORK

    Thursday, January 11th, 2024
    JULIAN SCHNABEL (B. 1951) – Portrait of EltON ($200,000-300,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $189,000

    Iconic property from Elton John’s former Atlanta home is to be sold in a series of landmark sales at Christie’s in New York. Beginning with an evening sale on February 21 the series will comprise of eight sales both live and online. The city of Atlanta played a crucial role in John’s life, becoming the hub he would return to throughout his numerous tours within the United States. He solidified this connection to Atlanta in 1992 when he acquired the condominium in Park Place, on Peachtree Road. His unexpected choice of Atlanta as a residence was driven by personal reasons. After becoming sober in 1990, he found solace and support in the warm community and recovery facilities of the city, such as the Triangle Club, which played a critical part in his recovery.

    Over the years, Elton John assembled a distinctive collection of works of art, objects and memorabilia, many of them crafted specifically for his home on Peachtree Road. Fans will discover an in-depth look at Elton John’s deep passion for photographs, which he began collecting avidly in the 1990s. Creating a gallery-like atmosphere, he adorned the walls of his Atlanta residence with pieces by pioneering artists, such as Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Peter Beard, Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon and more. Also included are highly intimate artworks crafted personally for Elton John and his husband David Furnish. Among them is Damien Hirst’s “Your Song” signed and inscribed ‘xxx for Elton + David love Damien Thank You,’ with an estimated value of $350,000-450,000; as well as a portrait of Elton John by Julian Schnabel. There are fashion pieces from the iconic performer’s dazzling stage wardrobe, including a noteworthy Ivory and Gold Ensemble designed by Annie Reavey in circa 1971. This ensemble (estimate $8,000 – 12,000) holds historical significance as one of the initial sets of stage attire crafted exclusively for Elton John.

    A testament to Elton John’s eclectic tastes, his Atlanta apartment featured elaborate Versace upholstery—a nod to John’s longstanding friendship with the Versace family. Included in the sale is an incredible group of Versace items including a selection of vintage Gianni Versace shirts estimated at $4,000-6,000, in addition to tableware and home décor. The condo served as a personal sanctuary with a grand piano (estimate $30,000-50,000) art glass collections, antiques, and artifacts from his global travels.

    ANGLO-INDIAN SUITE FROM CASTLETOWN AT SOTHEBY’S IN LONDON

    Tuesday, January 9th, 2024
    A pair of Anglo-Indian giltwood chaises longues, Bombay, 19th century. UPDATE: THIS WAS SOLD PRIOR TO THE AUCTION

    This pair of Anglo-Indian giltwood chaises longues is one of five lots originally at Castletown House at Sotheby’s Royal and Noble sale in London on January 17. The estimate is £5,000-£8,000. Lots 46 to 51 in the sale from Castletown comprise of five lots of a suite of 19th century Anglo-Indian furniture from Bombay. A giltwood cabinet is estimated at £4,000-£6,000, a three fold screen is estimated at £2,500-£3,500, a piano stool is estimated at £1,000-£2,000 and a giltwood bergere has an estimate of £2,000-£3,000. UPDATE: ALL FIVE LOTS WERE SOLD PRIOR TO THE AUCTION.

    An Anglo-Indian giltwood cabinet, Bombay, 19th century UPDATE: THIS WAS SOLD PRIOR TO THE AUCTION

    SENSATIONAL VENETIAN PALACE CONTENTS AT SOTHEBY’S PARIS

    Friday, January 5th, 2024
    INTERIOR VIEW OF PALAZZO VOLPI

    Sumptuous lots from Palazzo Volpi, the Renaissance palace on the Grand Canal in Venice and birthoplace of the Venice Film Festival, will come under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Paris on February 28. A total of 200 lots of furniture and works of art from the collection of Count and Countess Volpi of Misurata will include palatial Roman tables, ballroom banquettes, sopraporta panels in the styleof Jacopo Sansovino, Wagner sofas and Venetian mirrors. They will include items from the palace’s piano nobile, the main floor containing the portego (a typically Venetian reception room), the ballroom and the music room. Highlights will include a set of 14 Venetian giltwood chairs, a pair of Italian giltwood side tables and a Venetian Japanese style console.

    The magnificent Renaissance residence was acquired in 1917 by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata (1877-1947), founder of the Venice International Film Festival after whom the Volpi Cup prize for the best actor and actress is still named. Over the course of his lifetime and the generation that has followed, the Count and his family hosted some of the greatest names in the 20th century in the opulent rooms of the palazzo including Winston Churchill, Coco Chanel, Josephine Baker, King Fouad of Egypt, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Andy Warhol, Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Barbara Hutton, Elizabeth Taylor, Gina Lollobrigida, Harrison Ford and George Clooney.

    GIORGIO ARMANI AT PALAZZO VOLPI