 |
 |
This pair of Georgian brass bound peat buckets come up as lot 787 at Fonsie Mealy’s two day Chatsworth autumn antique sale which gets underway today. They are estimated at €5,000-€7,000. The catalogue cover is lot 691, a silhouette of Daniel O’Connell by Augustin Edouart dated to 1834. It is estimated at €1,500-€2,000. More than 1,000 lots will come under the hammer today and tomorrow. The catalogue is online.
This Chinese blue and white Zhadou (leys jar) comes up at Sheppards three day sale in Durrow on September 27, 28 and 29. Lot 995 comes with a globular body and wide flaring neck. It is painted around the exterior with two bands of dragons chasing the flaming pearl amid scrolling lotus. The four-character mark of Zhengde (1506-21) is to the base. It is estimated at €8,000-€10,000. There are 1,374 lots in the sale and the catalogue is online.
A 1932 Austin Six Saloon, an exceptional pair of Buhl pier cabinets and a set of chairs once in the collection of the Dukes of Leinster at Leinster House are among the delights awaiting collectors at auctions around the country in the coming week. The Chatsworth autumn fine art sale by Fonsie Mealy in Castlecomer next Tuesday and Wednesday will run concurrently with three days of sales from Hatherton House, Dartry, Dublin and other clients by Sheppards in Durrow on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Meantime Aidan Foley’s three day antique and home interior sale at Sixmilebridge gets going tomorrow.
The Austin Six at Fonsie Mealy is petrol driven and estimated at €10,000-€15,000. The sale includes a George III breakfront bookcase by Thomas Graham of Clonmel once in the collection of the Villiers-Stuart family (€6,000-€8,000) and a set of 18th century giltwood armchairs in the manner of John Trotter (€4,000-€5,000). The provenance here relates to the Dukes of Leinster at Leinster House and Carton.
Sheppards will offer more than 300 lots of furniture, 100 lots of Chinese ceramics, hundreds of paintings, mirrors and some architectural salvage. Appetising antique furniture includes a pair of exceptional 19th century Buhl pier cabinets (€5,000-€8,000). A Chinese blue and white Leys jar is estimated at €8,000-€10,000. More unusual lots include a pair of Balinese hardwood windows and shutters, and a Balinese door. Library bookcases, Persian rugs, Victorian sideboards and ga
This table in the Chinese Chippendale style is lot 784 at Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth autumn antique sale in Castlecomer on September 27 and 28. The Irish Georgian tables have a rectangular moulded top above an open fret cut frieze. The estimate for the pair is 5,000-7,000. Viewing for the sale of 1023 lots opens today and the catalogue is online.
This seasonal bronze sculpture of boys climbing a ladder made a hammer price of 7,200 at the opening evening of Victor Mee’s three day Palace Collection sale on September 20. Two Irish Georgian marble statuary fireplaces each made 14,000, a plaster cast statue of Venus of Arles made 4,600,, a bronze sculpture of a majestic stage made 3,600, an Irish Georgian longcase clock by John Irwin of Boyle made 4,000, an Irish Crystal 15 branch chandelier made 3,500 and a 17th century oak refectory table made 3,400. The online sale continues at 6 pm on September 21 and 22.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 16, 2022)
All auctions with antique furniture offer plenty of opportunities for entry level collectors. The sort of value to be had is underlined at Woodwards sale in Cork on September 24. A selection of Georgian, William IV, Victorian and Edwardian furniture is all available at under €500. Many of these built to last venerable old pieces would have cost more two decades ago than they do today and defy every current trend simply by getting cheaper. If auction history teaches us anything it is that antique pieces from particular eras have to survive a period of unfashionability and a tendency to break them up. The time to come back into some sort of vogue is overdue.
What is slightly puzzling is that in an era like this one when anything goes antique furniture is not at all unfashionable. The best interiors are routinely drawn from many sources – eclectic if you like – and the stylish modern home offers huge scope for individual taste and style in furniture, art and collectibles. Even if we are about to be bled dry by energy costs and inflation we need to feather winter nests for the coming winter. Here are some examples from Woodwards with estimates in brackets: Georgian lowboy (€300-€400); concave cabinet (€300-€400); George II card table (€400-€500); Edwardian demi-lune card table (€300-€400); William IV sideboard (€400-€500); Edardian twin pillar dining table (€300-€400); Edwardian sofa table (€300-€400) and a small bachelors chest (€150-€200). The catalogue is online.
A new design series by Joseph Walsh – Riverstick, Co. Cork based global design superstar – opens at Sotheby’s in London today. On show is a selling exhibition of key pieces from his newly developed Gestures series on display for the first time. The 12 sinuous works include a large dining table, a sculptural bench, free form lounge chairs, dining chairs and various wall mounted sculptural shelves.
Now in mid career Joseph Walsh is the Eileen Gray of this generation – and not every generation throws up designer innovators of this calibre. A century ago Gray was making lacquered pieces in Paris. This new series by Joseph Walsh, whose work is celebrated by design cognoscenti from Tokyo to Chicago to Paris, is finished in ebonised black. Beginning with charcoal sketches which Walsh translates into scale model studies in wood Gestures has emerged over the past three years. Wood is cut into layers, rebuilt and carved to create an uninterrupted sculptural form and finished in black. Each piece is functional and boldly sculptural. The show at Sotheby’s, which coincides with the London Design Festival, runs until September 29.
This Irish Georgian fireplace is among the top lots at Victor Mee’s annual Palace Collection sale which runs from September 20-22. Viewing gets underway at the former Bishop’s Palace, Kilmore, Co Cavan on September 17 and the catalogue is online. There are 1,748 lots of antique furniture, decorative interior pieces and garden furniture and the auction includes contents from Benmore House in Co. Fermanagh. The breakfront chimney piece with centre plaque illustrated here is estimated at €15,000-€25,000 and is lot 250b. It is one of a number of fireplace pieces in the sale. There is a big selection of antique furniture, art, collectibles and a variety with a wide appeal to all tastes across varying price ranges.
There is considerable provenance to lot 652 at Fonsie Mealy’s autumn Chatsworth auction in Castlecomer on September 27-28. According to the auctioneer the 18th century French Louis XVI oval walnut and tulipwood table pictured here was once the property of Marie Antoinette. Purchased in Paris by Lord Charles Beresford it was given as a gift to Mrs. Maude of Belgard Castle, Clondalkin, Dublin on the birth of her son Marcus “Markie” Maude in 1896. He died in Mesopotamia aged 24 and the table went by descent to Mount Juliet from Colonel Silcock. It was purchased by the present vendor at Mount Juliet.
The table was made by Jean-Pierre Dusautoy (1719-1800) and is stamped. There is a three quarter pierced brass gallery and oval top with a tooled leather inset inside a crossbanded edge. It is estimated at 4,000-6,000. The two day sale of over 1,000 lots is brimful of interest and the catalogue is online.
Just like Patrick Kavanagh you might meet your object of desire on Raglan Road on an autumn day. In the case of the poet it was a lady whose dark hair would weave a snare which he might one day rue. In yours and mine, more prosaically, it could just be something from the timed auction that de Veres is running at 25 Raglan Road until September 19. The auctioneers say this entire sale offers a window into the mind of an interior designer and that this is an opportunity to pick up pieces as new. The mix of antique, modern and contemporary furniture is complemented by lighting, prints, mirrors, soft furnishings, porcelain and household items. One of the most expensively estimated lots is an Andrew Martin sofa (€1,000-€2,000). Mirrors, chairs, curtains, dressing tables, lamps, lined curtains, chests of drawers and porcelain are all very reasonably estimated, many at under €300. There will be viewing at the house next Friday, Saturday and Sunday week. The catalogue is online now.
