Frattini desk c1960. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,400 AT HAMMER
This rosewood c1960 Model 530 desk by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini is lot 17 at de Veres art and design auction which runs online until May 24. The sale is on view from today in Dublin. The desk is estimated at 1,500-2,500. The sale features Danish and Italian furniture and lighting by some of the major designers of the 20th Century including Arne Vodder, Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl, Niels Moller, le Corbusier, major labels Desede, Roche Bobois, B + B Italia and Cassina. There is art by Felim Egan, Robert Ballagh, Martin Gale, Terry Frost, Barrie Cooke, William Crozier and a variety of other artists.
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lynch at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Great Irish Interiors at Sheppards, collectibles at Whyte’s and Mullen’s, art at Morgan O’Driscoll and James Adam, an Irish collection at Sotheby’s in London, design at de Veres and antique furniture at Woodwards should get a busy summer season off to a flying start over the next week or so. Kicking off with an Eclectic Collector sale online at Whyte’s in Dublin today buyers at all price points will find plenty to choose from. Wine drinkers who enjoy Chateau Lynch Bages will no doubt be fascinated by a portrait at Sheppards of Jean Baptiste Lynch (1749-1835), Mayor of Bordeaux, Count of the French Empire, lawyer and son of Thomas Lynch who produced high quality wines under the name Cru de Lynch which eventually morphed into Lynch-Bages. The Lynch family – one of the Tribes of Galway – fled persecution in Ireland in the 17th century and this portrait is from the Derk estate in Co. Limerick, thence by descent. Lot 23 is estimated at €15,000-€25,000.
Three days of sales at Sheppards get underway next Tuesday (May 24). Viewing starts in Durrow today and the catalogue with a fascinating selection of antique furniture, Chinese and African collectibles, ceramics, chandeliers, sllver, jewellery and collectibles is online.
Along with Robert Emmet’s 1803 Proclamation Whyte’s sale today offers 1916 Rising and War of Independence documents and medals, Seamus Heaney signed first editions, Polar exploration volumes, maps, banknotes and coins and entertainment and sporting memorabilia. A Butterfly Spin by Damien Hirst and a silkscreen print of John Wayne by Andy Warhol feature at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale of affordable art which runs until next Monday evening (May 23) A strong selection of 20th century classic design furniture and Irish art will come under the hammer at de Veres next Tuesday afternoon (May 24). There is Danish and Italian furniture and lighting by designers including Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl, le Corbuser, Mies van der Rohe and Arne Vodder and art by Felim Egan, Robert Ballagh, Francis Tansey, Terry Frost and William Crozier.
An Irish George III oval mirror at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE £10,080
The sale of Monte Alverno: An Irish Collection at Sotheby’s in London next Thursday will give Irish and international collectors a chance to pick up something Irish and special like Regency peat buckets, gilt mirrors, antique furniture and art ranging from 18th century bird gouaches by Samuel Dixon through to Yeats, James Arthur O’Connor, John Luke and Patrick Swift.A pair of Georgian peat buckets and a pair of Edwardian demi-lune side tables are among the top antique furniture lots at Woodwards sale in Cork next Saturday (May 24). Among the Georgian lots are a three pillar dining table, a library table, a card table, a wine cooler, a bureau, a chest of drawers and a lowboy. An Edwardian inlaid sofa table and an office mahogany desk are among around 300 lots here.Next week is bookended by a sale of history, militaria and collectibles at Mullens of Laurel Park.
Photograph of a female climber in Victorian days at Mullen’s UPDATE: THIS LOT MADE 380 AT HAMMER
Among the first photographs of rock climbers in action were those taken by the Abraham family at Keswick in the Lake District. Mullens will offer a box of 50 glass stereoscope slides of 19th century images from Cumberland and North Wales featuring climbers in tweeds, flat caps and, in one memorable image, a skirt. In those Victorian times there was no lack of equality on the mountains. The sale kicks off with a skull of a Great Irish Elk. There is a poetry book inscribed by Roger Casement in Pentonville Prison on the night before his execution to Fr. Murnane of The Presbytery, Bermondsey.
BEACHED BOATS AT BRIGHTON ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN CONSTABLE. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Beached Boats at Brighton, a painting attributed to one of Britains most enduringly popular artists John Constable (1776-1837), is the top lot at Shepards three day Great Irish Interiors sale from May 24-26. The oil on board in a gilt frame is estimated at 20,000-30,000. From a private family collection at Littlehamton in Sussex Sheppards say it is likely to have come from one of the sales at Fosters who sold the contents of Constable’s studios on behalf of his family from 1838 to 1875. The tiny work measures just three and a half by four and a half inches. The sale of 1,204 lots features art, antique furniture and a wide variety of collectibles. The catalogue is online and viewing gets underway in Durrow tomorrow.
Mid 18th century Irish side table. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A fascinating collection of antique furniture and art comes under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London on May 26. Monte Alverno: An Irish Private Collection will offer a collection of English and Irish furniture from a Dalkey home with views over the Irish Sea. There is some beautifully carved and patinated Irish furniture from the mid 18th century through to later pieces by Hicks of Dublin as well as gilded mirrors and Chinese works of art.
Among the Irish furniture lots of note is a pair of George III style demi lune side tables, a mid 18th century open armchair, a pair of Regency convex mirrors by Richard Jackson, a George II style side table by Hicks, a Regency telescopic extending dining table, a harlequin set of 15 George II style dining chairs and a George III oval cut glass mirror. A B. Yeats, William Scott, John Luke, Patrick Swift, James Arthur O’Connor and other renowned Irish artists. The catalogue is online.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 4, 2022)
Irish William IV Mahogany Three Pod Dining Table. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER
This 20 foot long Irish William IV dining table is among the top lots at Matthews original country house clearance auction on May 10. The executors sale of the estate of the late Trevor Fitzherbert of Rockfield, Athboy Road, Kells, Co. Meath offers a total of 950 lots and is on view at the property. The dining table is lot 348 and is estimated at €3,000-€5,000. The catalogue is online.
This Pugin style oak confessional box is one of the more unusual collectibles items of furniture to come up at auction in Ireland for some time. It is at €3,000-€5,000 the most expensively estimated lot at Victor Mee’s online sale of antique furniture, decorative interiors and ecclesiastical items from Clonliffe College Seminary in Dublin on May 10. Among a total of 628 lots are an ebonised Steinway grand piano, a Regency five pillar dining table and a 19th century oak pulpit with wrought iron balustrade.
The Dublin archdiocese has offered its former seminary at Clonliffe in Drumcondra for the accommodation of Ukranian refugees.
THIS REGENCY MAHOGANY FIVE PILLAR DINING TABLE MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER
George I gilt and scarlet-japanned bureau-cabinet, circa 1720, in the manner of John Belchier. UPDATE: THIS MADE £151,200
This spectacular early Georgian gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet is the most expensively estimated lot at Sotheby’s sale of contents from Monte Alverno, Dalkey, Dublin in London on May 26. Formerly at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire it was acquired at Mallett’s in London in 1999 and is now estimated at £150,000-£250,000. The City by Jack B Yeats has a similar estimate. Monte Alverno; An Irish Private Collection contains a remarkable collection of English and Irish furniture and paintings from a home perched high on a terrace in Dalkey with views over the Irish Sea. There is beautifully carved and patinated Irish furniture dating from the mid-eighteenth century through to later pieces by Hicks of Dublin, partnered with gilded mirrors, Chinese works of art and fine English furniture along with paintings by Jack B. Yeats, William Scott, James Arthur O’Connor, Patrick Swift and other renowned Irish artists. The catalogue is online.
A pair of George III mahogany torchères, circa 1770
GIOVANNI ANTONIO CANAL, IL CANALETTO Entrance to the Grand Canal looking East, with Santa Maria della Salute at right UPDATE: In the hours leading up to the auction, Christie’s announced the private sale of Venice, the Grand Canal looking East with Santa Maria della Salute by Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto, to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, enabled through a generous donation by Diane B. Wilsey.
The legendary Ann & Gordon Getty Collection will be sold at Christie’s through a series of landmark auctions beginning next October. The collection stands alone in its quality, rarity and beauty. Nearly 1,500 works of English and European furniture, Asian works of art, European ceramics, Chinese export porcelain, silver, European and Asian textiles, and Impressionist and Old Master paintings from the couple’s San Francisco residence will be offered. The sales in October are expected to achieve as much as $180 million. Proceeds will benefit the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts and designated beneficiaries include California based organisations like the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, University of San Francisco, Berkeley Geochronology Center, and the Leakey Foundation.
HENRI MATISSE Chrysanthèmes dans un vase de Chine UPDATE: THIS MADE $5.1 MILLION
Gordon Getty commented: “Though she left us far too soon, I know Ann would be proud that her exquisite eye and unmatched dedication to craftsmanship and scholarship are being shared with the world, and that the philanthropic planning around our art collection is being realised. These sales are a continuation of the longstanding philanthropic goals of the Getty family first established by my father, J. Paul Getty.”
Imperial Safari sofa by Archizoom. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,500 AT HAMMER
Titans of modern British, European and American art like Patrick Caulfield, Bridget Riley, Karl Appel, Milton Avery and Lucien Freud and a selection of sleek designer pieces by Italian, French, Finnish and Danish designers make for a fascinating Mid-Century Modern sale at James Adam in Dublin on May 10. No less than 28 of the 216 lots on offer are from the estate of a deceased Dublin collector with a deep interest in Modern art. A collection like this one offers a variety of once off opportunities with rich pickings for the significant band of Irish collectors with a growing appreciation of this relatively recent period. It provided the catalogue cover lot, Patrick Caulfield’s Coach Lamp from 1994 purchased from the Waddington Galleries in London and now estimated at €40,000-€60,000.
Coach Lamp (1994) by Patrick Caulfield UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Three Squares in Yellow by Patrick Heron, regarded as one of the finest colourists of the 20th century, dates to 1960 and is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. Two Pines by the American artist Milton Avery, who is to be the focus of an exhibition at the Royal Academy this summer, is a mixed media work with an estimate of €20,000-€30,000 and Lucian Freud contributes an etching titled Head of a Man which dates to 1986/87 and comes with an estimate of €15,000-€20,000. There are paintings and drawings by Karl Appel, Jean Dubuffet, Josef Herman and Max Libermann. Among the Mod Brit artists on offer are Ben Nicholson, Graham Sutherland, Sir Terry Frost and Matthew Smith.
A set of six Les Arc chairs with leather seats on tubular black frames by Charlotte Perriand (€4,000-€6,000), an Imperial Safari Sofa by Archizoom (€10,000-€15,000), a large rosewood sideboard by Silvio Cavatorta (€4,000-€6,000) and a set of 12 chairs by Charles and Ray Eames with fibreglass shell seats on an aluminium base (€3,000-€5,000) will be of huge interest to collectors of modern furniture. A walnut sideboard by the Italian Gianfranco Frattini dates to 1960 and is estimated at just €3,000-€5,000, a 1950’s wood, brass and metal bench by Bugatti is estimated at €1,500-€2,000 and a c1950 dining table by Finn Juhl is estimated at €2,000-€2,500. Consoles, wall lights, bar cabinets, mirrors and armchairs from the period are included.Art from other private collections includes works by Stephen McKenna, John Boyd, Colin Martin, William McKeown, Mick Mulcahy, Francis Tansey, Eithne Jordan, Deborah Brown and Graham Gingles. Collectible graphic works by Francis Bacon, Sean Scully, Mark Geary and William Scott range in estimate from €500 to €5000. The catalogue is online now.
Like the most enticing library the sale at James Adam in Dublin on April 26 is enough to set the imagination soaring. Brimful of the most weird, wonderful and – if you love old and interesting things – fabulous lots the Library Collection lots has it all plus deeply comfortable chairs. The wonder of it is that there is not that much in the way of books. Instead you can happily browse among bookcases, desks, tables, artworks, rugs, stuffed birds, a Black Forest carved hall stand, a carved cathedral clock, tapestries, a Meissen monkey orchestra, an Anglo Indian marble topped side table, globes, mirrors, tiles, busts and an illuminated manuscript carefully tucked away in a selection of 360 eye popping lots.
The auction kicks off with a pair of 19th century Spanish pine and iron studded finca doors. Where to place these sun bleached objects in a typical Irish setting? Time to set your creativity to overdrive. You won’t need megabucks, the estimate is just €600-€800. There are wonderful collectibles like a c1680-1720 Louis XIV Beauvais tapestry from France (€15,000-€20,000), the aforementioned 21 piece Meissen monkey orchestra plus conductors stand (€8,000-€12,000), a 19th century Killarney work table (€3,000-€4,000), a giltwood and porcelain mounted Viennese Napoleonic table (€3,000-€5,000) and a Regency boulle marquetry commode (€10,000-€15,000). An Irish George IV mahogany bookcase on turned cornice with spiral columns, glazed doors and panelled doors, described as possibly Cork, has an estimate of €6,000-€8,000.
A mid 19th century illustration of Lisburn UPDATE: THIS MADE €8,000 AT HAMMER
An illuminated manuscript book in a tooled leather binding presented to James Stannus, Dean or Rogg and Rector of Lisburn in 1867 contains a series of finely detailed drawings including Market Place with Market House and Christchurch Cathedral, the Old Huguenot Church now used as a courthouse and Bleaching Field near the linen mills at Lisburn. The estimate is €4,000-€5,000.Many lots like a coco de mer nut from the Seychelles (€400-€600) are more affordable and might make useful conversation pieces. Natural history specimens and taxidermy range in price from 300 up, a c1830 French ormolu cathedral clock is estimated at €300-€500 as is a 19th century beech and elmwood reading chair, a collection of 15 books related to Ireland comes with an estimate of €100-€200 and there are tiles, bottles and flasks and some attractive antique furniture at very reasonable estimates. The sale is on view at St. Stephen’s Green from 1 pm to 5 pm today and tomorrow and from 10 am to 5 pm on Monday. This online catalogue deserves to be closely perused and savoured in a quiet and peaceful corner. A library would be ideal.
