Irish George I walnut and featherbanded, sycamore, cedar and marquetry ‘architectural’ secretaire cabinet c1725, possibly by John Kirkhoffer. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This Irish George I walnut and featherbanded, sycamore, cedar and marquetry ‘architectural’ secretaire cabinet is one of a group of four which feature in Irish Furniture, 2007, Yale University in New Haven and London by Desmond Fitzgerald, Knight of Glin and James Peill. One of these cabinets was originally owned by Dean Swift and the example housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London was thought to have been his, but later analysis of an inscription on the cabinet has revealed this not to be the case. This one comes up at Bonhams sale of Decorative Arts Through the Ages in London on July 13 with an estimate of £30,000-£40,000.
John Kirkhoffer was probably the son of a German Palatine called Franz Ludwig, who arrived in Ireland as a refugee in 1709 after escaping the Rhineland-Palatinate area, which had been subjected to many years of conflict. The Kirkhoffer family of Protestant immigrants made it to Counties Kerry and Limerick before ultimately settling in Dublin.
A gilt console table and other lots from Aidan Foley’s sale
A 1940 shipwreck off Cape Clear and the Irish record for a specimen river brown trout are recalled at Aidan Foley’s two day auction at Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare on July 4 and 5. The trout, weighing 20 lbs, was caught in the River Shannon at Corbally, Limerick in February 1957 by Major Hugh L Place. The sale includes items from the Place family, who had strong connections to the Limerick Steamship Company, which named its ships after locations in Limerick.
The SS Maigue, travelling from Limerick via Fenit to Liverpool with a cargo of bacon, struck a rock near Cape Clear in January 1940 and was beached at South Harbour. Badly damaged she was refloated that May, sold for scrap and broken up in Dublin. An unsigned painting of the ship is included in the auction along with a collection of fishing rods by John Enright, Castleconnell owned by Major Place. Old fishing flies with a 1945 note by Major Place who believed them then to be 100 years old might make an interesting catch. Antique lots in the auction include two console tables, a metal Armada chest, Irish swords by Johnson of Dublin, an Adams style desk and a large club fender. The catalogue for this sale of 1,700 lots is online and the auctions will be live and online.
LÊ QU0C L0C (VIETNAM, 1918-1987) – A Mekong river landscape with a village
Described as rare and important this six fold Mekong river scene by Le Quoc Loc made a hammer price of €360,000 at the James Adam sale of Asian art in Dublin today. This screen is typical of the artist’s work, in the sense that the predominant tones are red and dark brown combined with gilt. It depicts a bird’s eye-view animated landscape, as seen from the top of a hill, crossed by Mekong river arms. The in-depth perspective is created by a succession of grounds. In the first two the artist used a gilt lacquer to depict trees, including palm trees. In the middle on the left, is a traditional thatched houses hamlet. Then come Mekong river arms. The composition may roughly be described as being divided into two parts by a diagonal going from the upper left corner to the lower right corner – thereby creating two triangular shapes – and playing with empty and full. The estimate for the screen was €200,000-€400,000.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for June 25,2022)
Lacquered wooden panel of a seated young beauty with flowers by Alix Ayme. UPDATE: THIS MADE 80,000 AT HAMMER
The fabulous arts of Asia – magnificent, rich, colourful, symbolic, auspicious – will come under the hammer at three days of sales at James Adam in Dublin kicking off next Tuesday. More than 1,000 lots including newly discovered masterpieces of fine Chinese and Himalayan art will feature in two Asian Spring auctions and one of decorative Asian art. There will be global interest in an auction series which has been already previewed at the Pagoda Fair in Paris. Irish collectors and those dipping their toes into this market for the first time will find plenty of opportunities at sales where estimates range from €80 to €400,000.
In an era of fakes, knockoffs and forgeries seasoned collectors of Asian art value provenance very highly. These auctions are rich in works from well known collections like that of Carlos Alfredo Tornquist Altgelt (1885-1953); Juan Carlos Katzenstein (1925-2018); Jorge Casares of Buenos Aires and Canadian industrialist Baron Sir Duncan Orr-Lewis. The top lot of the auction is a rare six panelled lacquered wood screen of a Mekong River landscape with village by Vietnamese artist Le Quoc Loc (1918-1987). This 1943 panel is estimated at €200,000-€400,000. From snuff bottles to carved animals to screens and vases there is enough jade to make one green with envy. On day one there are Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze figures, rock crystal censers, blanc de chine porcelain vases, Chinese export porcelain, silver, cloisonne ware, an opium tray, furniture, art and scrolls.
Le Quoc Loc – Six panelled lacquered wood screen of a Mekong River landscape with village. UPDATE: THIS MADE 360,000 AT HAMMER
The emphasis on Wednesday is on Vietnam, Indochina, Asian painters and Japan. There are some Japanese prints along with a selection of art and artefacts headed by the six fold lacquer screen by Le Quoc Loc and a beautiful lacquer panel with a Byzantine inspired gold ground by Alix Ayme (1894-1989), professor at the Indochina Fine Arts College in Hanoi. The artist, once a pupil of Maurice Denis, was instrumental in the revival of the ancient art of lacquer which she taught in Hanoi. On Thursday the sale of decorative arts is brimful of interest. The Chinese incorporate auspicious symbols in nearly every aspect of life, including arts and culture. All sorts of symbols represent their aspiration for a longer, more prosperous and happier life. Lot 701 is a Famille Rose eight boys bottle vase. Three of them are climbing up the vase, and the depiction of five on the shoulders is particularly auspicious as it signifies the saying “wu zi deng ke” referring to the supreme achievement of one family whose five sons passed the civil service examination. (In my view the most auspicious thing about this is that they did not live next door!).The catalogue is online and viewing is underway at St. Stephen’s Green.
A JADE SNUFF BOTTLE CHINA, LATE QING DYNASTY. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This jade snuff bottle is lot 11 at three days of sale of Asian art at James Adam in Dublin next week. The catalogues for Asian Spring 1, Asian Spring 2 and Decorative Asian Art are online and in person viewing gets underway at St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin on June 24. The auctions, which feature lots from noted collections, have already been previewed at the Pagoda Fair in Paris.
Irish Georgian marble fireplace. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An Irish Georgian fireplace with a neoclassical style Adams plaque and an ornate Victorian cast iron spiral staircase will be feature lots at the online Lynes and Lynes sale from Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork on June 25. The auction is comprised of 361 lots. There is an executors contents from west Cork, part contents from a religious order and furniture and silver from estates and collections in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Limerick. The most expensively estimated piece, at €12,000-€15,000, is the fireplace. Along with the 14′ high spiral staircase (€2,000-€3,000) this can be viewed in situ. It will be up to the purchaser to dismantle and remove them.
Victorian cast iron spiral staircase. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,700 AT HAMMER
A fine pair of oval antique Waterford mirrors with alternating blue lozenge and gilt fluted cut glass studs will be of interest to collectors. They are estimated at €6,000-€8,000. A Georgian long case clock with brass dial by Thomas Cahill of Waterford is reasonably estimated at €1,000-€1,500. A Limerick silver soup ladle measuring 14 and a half inches in length by Patrick Connell – Limerick silver is always a rarity – is estimated at €400-€600. An early Cork silver salver by John Nicholson comes with an estimate of €300-€500. A pair of Irish pole screens, most likely by the Dublin firm of Williams & Gibton, is estimated at €300-€500. There is a soup plate from the old Cork Mansion House service. This was designed by renowned Cork based architect George Richard Pain (1793 to 1838), who was a pupil of John Nash, as the Lord Mayor’s dinner service for what was then the Mansion House and is now the Mercy Hospital. The plate is estimated at €100-€200. There are some Meissen plates with the crossed swords mark and a French ormolu mantel clock with Sevres panels is estimated at €1,000-€1,500.
THIS EARLY PAIR OF IRISH PROVINCIAL TABLESPOONS, POSSIBLY CORK, SOLD FOR 4,400
MIRRORS sparkled and silver shone on day two of Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer fine art sale online from Castlecomer today. This early pair of Irish provincial silver tea spoons, with an estimate of 200-300, made a hammer price of 4,400. An 18th century Dublin c1788 serving spoon with a hooked handle and HM makers mark, made 3,000 over a top estimate of 300, a c1792 Dublin soup ladle with an estimate of 200-300 made 2,300, a cowrie shell silver crested snuff box by Jane Williams, Cork make 2,500 over a top estimate of 600 and a pair of card trays by Michael McDermott, Cork c1760 made 2,200 over a top estimate of 1,500.
An 18th century carved gilt overmantle in the Chippendale manner crested with a ho ho bird from Cahir Park House in Co. Tipperary made 11,500 at hammer and an Irish gilt and gesso two compartment overmantle mirror made 9,500 at hammer. On June 14 a large pair of Irish carved giltwood compartmental mirrors made 11,000.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for May 31, June 8, June 12 and June 14, 2022)
Eager collectors quickly learn that there is always someone with a more valuable painting, a more desirable collectible, a more fabulous piece of antique furniture, even a better door knocker. In the latter case there was no keeping up with the late couturier Hubert de Givenchy. He had the ultimate door knocker. It was designed by Diego Giacometti sometime around 1975-80. This marvellous piece sold for €120,000 at the opening day of Christie’s sale of the collection of Hubert de Givenchy in Paris today. There were more expensive lots at this sale of masterpieces, like Femme Qui March II by Diego’s brother Alberto. This made €23.5 million at hammer. A cylinder bureau with a mechanism by David Roentgen made €1.75 million, Le Passage de oiseau-migrateur by Joan Miro made €5.75 million, a pair of monumental girandoles attributed to Pierre Philippe Thomire made €4.1 million. The list, and the sale, goes on. This scribe always thought there was something impossibly stylish about having a Giacometti door knocker – it was gratifying today to note that that market agreed. As for us collectors, once we enjoy what we have what difference does it make if someone with more money has a better one? None.
UPDATE: The auction of 63 lots realised €83,030,650and was 100% sold
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 5, March 10 and February 2, 2022)
This early Chinese cloisonné Bowl made 14,000 at hammer
An early Chinese cloisonne bowl with an estimate of 100-200 together with a Chinese jardiniere with a four character mark made a hammer price of 14,000 at day one of Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth Summer Fine Art sale today. The bowl was described as profusely decorated with colourful flowers, 10″ (26cms), the Jardinière, with four character mark to base, measured 6 1/2″. The auction is continuing live online. Among the other hammer prices today were €11,500 for a Steinway grand piano, a pair of Irish carved giltwood compartmental mirrors (€11,000) and a white marble inlaid fireplace in the manner of Pietro Bossi (€9,000).
VICTORIAN INLAID WALNUT AND ORMOLU MOUNTED CREDENZA. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
THIS Victorian inlaid credenza is among the main lots at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on June 14. The estimate is 3,000-5,000. Other top lots include a composed suite of George III silver cutlery and a 19th century portrait of a racehorse with jockey and owner Johnson Lee set against a gallops. There is jewellery, chandeliers, mirrors, antique furniture and a wide variety of collectibles on offer. The catalogue is online and the sale is on view at St. Stephen’s Green.
