Diamond Set Platinum Cluster Ring UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 3,400
This diamond cluster ring mounted on a 14 carat yellow gold band comes up as lot 134 at Matthews annual two day holiday auction online on December 30 and January 1. With an estimate of €3,500-5,500 it is among the most expensively estimated items in this auction totalling 1615 lots. The catalogue is online. The sale on December 30 is of lots 1-757 and comprises jewellery, gold, silver and collectibles. The sale on January 1 covers antique, modern and designer furniture, part house clearances and collectibles. The sale is on view in Kells from noon to 5 pm on December 28 and 29 and from 11 am to 2 pm on December 30.
This vintage French tapestry measuring 40 inches across by 22 inches high comes up at Hegarty’s timed online auction of antiques and interiors which runs until January 5. The estimate for this outdoor Rococo scene is €80-€120. The auction offers more than 200 lots of furniture, art, silver, jewellery and collectibles.
This rare George I walnut combination desk made a hammer price of €13,000 at the James Adam At Home sale today. It had been estimated at €1,000-€2,000. It is formed with a kneehole desk on one side and a chest of drawers on the other. No less than seven bidders chased this unusual antique piece. A George IV pitch pine circular breakfast table with an estimate of €400-600 made €1,600 at hammer. A Pasha razor and barber brush by Cartier made €1,400, a gold charm bracelet made €3,200, an 1885 full sovereign gold coin in a pendant made €1,800, a pair of Victorian gilt and gesso torchere stands made €2,000, a Victorian giltwood rectangular mirror made €2,400 and a pair of continental porcelain figurines made €2,400 over a top estimate of €400.
A two seater Chesterfield couch UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER
A weathered leather couch and club chair at right angles to a blazing fire, a Victorian giltwood mirror and a carved mahogany framed ottoman combine to make an enviably comfortable image on the catalogue cover for Adams timed At Home auction on December 19.. The scene was set in the elegant surroundings of the St. Stephen’s Green Club in Dublin where the decorated Georgian fireplace and Christmas tree added a seasonal touch of cheer.
Here’s the thing. There is no reason why this ghost of Christmas past cannot be turned into the ghost of your Christmas future because with the exception of the fireplace all these lots are in the sale. The two seater button backed brown leather couch and matching armchair are estimated at €1,600-€2,000, the mirror at €500-€700 and the ottoman at €400-€600.
The most expensively estimated furniture lot is 441, a 19th century neo-Grecian maple and rosewood inlaid centre table (€3,000-€5,000) and there is a good collection of overmantle mirrors. Among the more unusual offerings are two Afghan war rugs woven with tanks and war apparatus, each estimated at €200-€300, based on the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. There is also a rare George I walnut combination piece with knee hole desk on one side and a chest of drawers on the other (€1,000-€2,000).
19th century neo-Grecian centre table UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The first 156 lots is made up of jewellery and watches headed by an Italian 18 carat gold necklace and bracelet (€3,200-€3,800). There is no shortage of gift items like a Pasha razor and barber brush by Cartier. The top art lot is an oil by Joseph Horler (1809-1887) of Criccieth Castle in North Wales (€3,000-€5,000).
As if all this was not enough Adams will hold a fine wines and spirit auction on December 18. The catalogues for both sales are online and they are now on view in Dublin.
This Irish William IV mahogany side cabinet comes up as lot 362 at the James Adam At Home sale with an estimate of 1,000-1,500. Thought to be made in Cork it has a rope moulded top and is flanked by spiral pilasters on hairy paw feet. Viewing gets underway in Dublin today for two timed online sales at Adams, Vintage Wines and Spirits which closes on December 18 and At Home which closes on December 19. The catalogues for each sale are online.
This George III mahogany travelling desk comes up as lot 285 at the James Adam At Home timed online At Home auction which ends from 11 am on December 19. There is a baize lined interior and a fitted hinged side panel enclosing twin drawers. The estimate is 1,500-2,000. The first 156 lots comprises jewellery and watches. The catalogue is online. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER
Woman and Fox by Paulne Bewick at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 600 AT HAMMER
From Doneraile to Belturbet and Dublin to Birr there will be a flurry of Christmas auctions in the coming week. Online auctions by Aidan Foley in Doneraile, Mullen’s in Laurel Park, Bray and by Victor Mee in Belturbet will get the ball rolling tomorrow. Aidan Foley’s auction in Doneraile will include contents from a former antiques shop in Kenmare with a selection of antique furniture including a Victorian hall table, a rosewood display stand and a selection of occasional tables. There is a watercolour by the Cork artist Henry Albert Hartland (1840-1893) and a lithograph by Tony O’Malley as well as a French tapestry rug and some Persian rugs.
This specimen table comes up at Mullen’s in Bray. UPDATE: THE CLOSING BID WAS 4,000
A circular continental specimen table inlaid with Breccia marble, lapil-lazuli, malachite, blue john and other semi precious stones is the top lot at Mullen’s of Laurel Park tomorrow. On a spreading column above a platform base it is estimated at €4,000-€6,000. This will be a timed auction with 830 lots of antique furniture, art, jewellery, lighting and collectibles. It will start to close from 6 pm. There will be 160 lots of jewellery headed by a white gold necklace with graduated diamonds (€12,000-€14,000) as well as silver and plate at Victor Mee’s Christmas sale of 189 lots in Belturbet at 6 pm tomorrow. The catalogue is online.
Meantime there is viewing in Dublin this weekend and on Monday for Whyte’s timed online Christmas art auction which begins to close from 6 pm on Monday (December 12). No less than 266 lots are on offer from artists as diverse as Gladys MacCabe and Robert Ballagh to Markey Robinson and Pauline Bewick. The selection of American artists includes work by Bob Dylan and Shepard Fairey. There are Christmas greeting cards by Patrick Scott and art by John Morris, Norman McCaig, Desmond Carrick, Ciaran Clear, Maria Simonds-Gooding, Elizabeth Brophy, Thomas Ryan, Barry Castle, Maurice Wilks, Evie Hone, Harry Kernoff, Anne Yeats and many more. The catalogue is online. There will be a selection of jewellery at John Weldon’s auction at Temple Bar in Dublin on Tuesday (December 13) and a collection of Irish and world interest books will come under the hammer online at a sale by Purcell Auctioneers of Birr on Wednesday. This sale will be headed by a narrative by Sir John Ross of a second voyage in search of the North West Passage in 1835 complete with charts and plates. A timed sale of fine vintage wines and spirits at James Adam ends from 11 am on Wednesday (December 18).
A French tapestry rug at Aidan Foley’s sale. UPDATE: THIS MADE 110 AT HAMMER
This 18th century lacquered cabinet sold for €2,800 at hammer at the opening day of Sheppards three day sale which began in Castlecomer and online on December 6. An Irish 18th century five pillar dining table failed to sell but there were some good prices for antique furniture like a pair of Edwardian satinwood bookcases (€8,000), a large Regency side table (€3,400), an Irish crested hall seat (€2,700), a pair of George II style humpback settees (€4,000) and a burr walnut circular dining table (€2,600). A Charles X ormolu and bronze cathedral clock made €3,000, a William Morris Donegal carpet made €2,800 and a West Anatolia Ushak carpet made €3,600. The auction continues today and tomorrow.
The Bonnettstown Hall Irish side table. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An Irish 18th century five pillar dining table (€50,000-€80,000) is the top lot at three days of sales at Sheppards from Tuesday December 6. The fascinating selection on offer includes fine wines headed by six bottles of Premier Cru Classe Pessac-Leognan, Chateau Haut Brion, 2009 (€5,500-€6,500) along with antique furniture, jewellery, art including a portrait of a lady in a green dress by Vanessa Bell, vintage designer dresses and handbags and collectibles including a Charles X ormolu and bronze cathedral clock by Schuller, Paris with painted porcelain plaque after Raphael Sanzio.
There are some fine 18th and 19th century chimney pieces, Donegal and Persian rugs, an Irish 18th century side table (€8,000-€12,000), baronial armchairs and an 18th century Chinese lacquered cabinet (€3,000-€5,000) among more than 1,400 lots. Viewing for a sale entitled Bonnettstown Hall, Kilkenny and other important clients is underway in Durrow and the catalogue is online.
VANESSA BELL (1879 – 1961) – Portrait of a lady in a green dress. (1959). UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,500 AT HAMMER
CLAUDE LALANNE (1925-2019) – UNIQUE MIRROR SOLD FOR €978,000?
This mirror, a unique piece by Claude Lalanne, sold for €978,000 at Christie’s design sale in Paris yesterday. The 140 lot sale brought together some of the greatest names in 20th Century French design: from Pierre Chareau, Jean Royère and Charlotte Perriand to Philippe Starck, Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, Maria Pergay, Mathieu Matégot and Line Vautrin. The auction brought in €5.6 million over a top estimate of €4.8 million. It was 81% sold by lot with 55% making more than the high estimate.
Christie’s will offer the collection of Marie Lalanne, daughter of Francois-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, in New York on December 7. The largest collection of Lalanne ever to be sold in the US will offer more than 150 lots, including sculpture, furniture, jewellery, handbags and dinner services. Among the leading lots is Gorilla Console by Francois-Xavier Lalanne ($1-$1.5 million) which carries the signature humour of the artist: the title is a play on the notion that gorillas are inconsolable by the fact that they will never be fully human. Here, the gorilla has chosen to console himself through becoming a console table.
UPDATE: THE NEW YORK SALE MADE $77,043,008. It was 100% sold, 319% above low estimate, with 88% of lots selling above the high estimate.
FRANÇOIS-XAVIER LALANNE (1927-2008) – Gorille Consolé. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $3,420,000
