A very fine pair of enormous fossilized Irish Elk Horns and Skull, the horns with 14 points and spanning 98″ made a hammer price of €40,000 at Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer fine art sale in Castlecomer today. Oscar Wilde’s desk made €29,000, a second specimen Irish elk horns made €28,000, a pair of large early 19th century terrestrial and celestial globes by John and William Newton, London, 1818 made €15,000, a French bateau bed owned by Oscar Wilde made €15,000, a Louis XV Cartel clock and barometer set made €12,000 and a bronze of The Cossacks Crossing the Balkans by Evgeny Alexandrovich Lanceray made €9,000.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 14 and June 9, 2025)
A ROSEWOOD SIDEBOARD, ITALIAN 1960’s, BY GIANFRANCO FRATTINI. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This 1960’s sideboard with shelf gallery back, shaped drawer handles and metal legs by the Italian design master Gianfranco Frattini is lot 62 at de Veres timed online summer auction which runs until June 23. The estimate is €800-1,400. The auction offers design pieces by Missoni, Niels Vodder, Charles and Ray Eames and more. Included in the auction are Irish artworks by Markey Robinson, Cecil Maguire, Desmond Carrick and many more across 230 lots.
Victorian Cast Iron Spiral Staircase. UPDATE: THIS MADE 320 AT HAMMER
This Victorian cast iron spiral staircase (€400-€800) is among the feature lots at Gormley’s online sale of the collection of Arthur Livingstone of Cuiltybar House, Coolaney, Co. Sligo and other clients on June 17 and 18. The top lot is a 1971 Citroen DS21 with rare right hand drive and refurbished interior (€40,000-€45,000). The sale is now on view at Coolaney. A total of 850 lots including vintage cars, pocket watches, walking sticks, clocks, scientific instruments, books, furniture and art will come under the hammer. The catalogue is online.
A 19th century French gold brocade royal blue carriage bag owned by Queen Maria Amelia, the last Queen of France. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER
With a range that spans everything from fossilised Irish elk horns to Oscar Wilde’s desk, a landscape attributed to John Butts and a handbag owned by the last Queen of France heritage, history, beauty and rarity are not in short supply at Fonsie Mealy’s summer fine art and antique sale in Castlecomer on June 18 and 19.
Among many highlights are a pair of 19th century terrestrial and celestial globes on stands by John and William Newton, London 1818 (€15,000-€20,000), a Louis XV clock and matching barometer by Julian Le Roy, Paris (1686-1759) (€10,000-€15,000), a bronze of The Cossacks Crossing the Balkans by Evgeny Alexandrovich Lanceray (1848-1886) (€10,000-€15,000), a collection of 19th and early 20th century erotic Indian miniatures (€7,000-€10,000) and a four fold screen The Star of Bethlehem after Edward Burne-Jones (€4,000-€6,000).
Lots like these do not come cheap but this sale of fine art, antique furniture, silver, miniatures, decorative objects and religious artefacts sourced from private estates and collectors across Ireland offers a diverse collection to suit every taste and budget. Estimates are from €30 and €40 up for lots including a figure of Buddha and carved ebony elephants (€60-€80), a pair of Birmingham silver pillar candlesticks (€100-€150) and an Edwardian dinner gong with horn supports (€80-€120). More than 1,000 lots will come under the hammer.
The Irish giltwood side table and mirror by Arthur Jones, featured here last Saturday, is at €15,000-€20,000 among the most expensively estimated items.
The oversized slope front desk used by Oscar Wilde with, inset, a photo of the author, poet and playwright. UPDATE: THIS MADE 29,000 AT HAMMER
Fishermen by a River at Sunset attributed to John Butts (c1728-1765). UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
There will be literary interest in a large William IV slope top davenport attributed to Gillows with provenance to Oscar Wilde (€6,000-€8,000). Like many items at Wilde’s house at Tite St. in Chelsea it was quietly removed by friends who offered financial support and safeguarding of personal items before the court ordered auction of his possessions after his trial and imprisonment in 1895. The artist Mortimer Menpes, godfather to Wilde’s son Vyvyan, took this desk and a French bateau bed exhibited at the Paris World Fair in 1878. The bed, also in this sale, is estimated at €3,000-€4,000.
A c1740 oil on canvas of Fishermen on a River at Sunset is attributed to John Butts (€4,000-€6,000), the artist who started his career in Cork and was influenced by Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa. In a catalogue note Dr. Peter Murray explains that the attribution of this Claudean landscape to Butts is based both on the subject matter and the style of painting.
A 19th century French royal blue gold brocade carriage bag with coronet and trestle design was owned by the French Queen, Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (1782-1866) who was married to Louis Philippe I. Maria Amalia, niece of Marie-Antoinette, was the last Queen of France. Gifted to the Ursuline sisters it comes to the auction by direct descent and is estimated at €800-€1,000.
A fine specimen of the elk horns and skull of the Gigantic Irish Deer with 14 points and spanning 98 inches is reputed to have been found in the Bog of Allen. It is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. Viewing for this brimful of interest and treasure filled sale gets underway in Castlecomer tomorrow at 1.30 pm and the catalogue is online.
An 18th century Louis XV Cartel clock and matching barometer by Julian Le Roy. UPDATE: THESE MADE 12,000 AT HAMMER
This Irish giltwood side table and mirror by the renowned Arthur Jones cabinetmakers was shown at the Irish Industrial Exhibition in Dublin in 1853. Known as The Table of Ireland it features motifs like a harp, carved masks, shamrocks, an Irish high tower and a medieval town house. Oak leaves, acorns and a saintly figure playing a harp are in sharp contrast to a warrior about to draw his sword. Together they depict the dual forces of peace and war in Ireland’s storied history as seen in Victorian times. The mirror is crested by a figure of Hibernia sat on a sword in front of a Celtic high cross. The table is one of the highlights at Fonsie Mealy’s summer fine art and antiques sale in Castlecomer on June 18 and 19. The estimate for lot 809 is €15,000-€20,000.
A Regency oval beaded mirror at James Adam. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,200 AT HAMMER
Home or garden? The choice is yours at two appetising sales next week, the At Home online sale at Adams in Dublin on June 11 and the two day summer garden sale by Victor Mee in Cavan on the evenings of next June 10 and 11.
Top lots at Adams range from Playing in the sand, a lovely summer scene by Dorothea Sharp (1874-1955) (€4,000-€6,000) through a Louis Quinze ormolu mounted longcase clock (€3,000-€5,000), an Irish Regency oval beaded wall mirror (€3,000-€5,000) and a Milkmaid pattern Irish silver tea set (€2,500-€3,500).
A wrought iron glasshouse in Victorian style complete with modern accoutrements like remote control glass and automated vents (€18,000-€22,000) leads the offerings at Victor Mee. Lifesize bronze sculptures of a horse and jockey and a galloping horse are estimated at €10,000-€20,000 each, while bronze effect statues on pedestals of The Four Seasons, a bronze fountain with Mercury and a pair of 19th century wrought iron entrance gates are all estimated at €8,000-€12,000.
A bleached timber library table at Adams. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
One of the more unusual At Home lots – for use when away – is a complete set of early 20th century 40 nautical signal flags. Originally drafted in 1855 the code is an international system of signals used by ships to convey important information on safety and navigation. The flags are in a fitted timber case with brass carrying handles and estimated at €400-€600.
With more than 500 lots the last At Home sale before the summer covers multiple objects for the home from a pair of brass framed circular hall lanterns to an Edwardian club fender and a pair of 19th century Sitzendorf porcelain wall sconces. There are lots of chairs like sofas and Chesterfields, a set of eight Windsor style oak and elmwood kitchen chairs, a pair of French 19th century two seater settees, a pair of red leather wingback armchairs, a George II walnut armchair, a pair of library armchairs, green leather button back chairs, a sent of c1820’s provincial Irish dining chairs along with Victorian and Edwardian dining chair sets.
Among the artworks on offer are two botanical watercolours by Wendy Walsh and Cattle Watering by Thomas Sydney Cooper. A pair of giltwood and marble figural console tables, a bleached timber library table, Georgian and Regency dining tables, side tables and card tables feature along with collectibles like silver, clock sets and a Baccarat three light candelabra.
An obelisk gifted by the Chinese government at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
At Victor Mee’s sale you will find exceptional urns and planters, a private collection of antique stone troughs and an obelisk gifted by the Chinese government to the Hely Hutchinson family at Knocklofty House in Clonmel. The two day sale features over 850 lots of garden statuary, furniture and architectural features.
There is a focus too on animal garden statuary with an emphasis on native irish wildlife. This is an area of collection which the team at Victor Mee has noted is growing in popularity as animal sculptures are increasingly used to add character and whimsy to Irish gardens. Among the offerings are hares dancing, a lifesize bronze sheep, bronze pigs, a cast iron red squirrel and a pair of boxing hares. More exotic creatures include a bronze elephant with a Dali style decoration and a bronze velociraptor. As always there is a good selection of antique and vintage outdoor furniture. Catalogues for both sales are online.
A raptor for your garden at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,350 AT HAMMER
SHERATON REVIVAL SIDE CABINET. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This attractive Sheraton Revival inlaid satinwood side cabinet is lot 404 at Adams online only At Home sale on June 11. The rectangular breakfront form has a central panelled door inset with a circular painted plaque decorated with a mother and child. It is flanked by a pair of astragal glazed panel doors and turned independent columns and turned legs. The estimate is €2,000-3,000. More than 500 lots will come under the hammer. Viewing is at St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin from June 7 – 10 and the catalogue is online.
One of a pair of hide upholstered Chesterfield settees which made a hammer price of €11,500
The two day Great Irish Interiors sale at Sheppards in Durrow got off to a flying start today when a pair of hide upholstered roll back Chesterfield settees sold for a hammer price of €11,500. Estimated at €2,500-€3,500 they were the subject of a bidding battle between a buyer in the room and another on the internet. The auction continues today and tomorrow.
19TH-CENTURY GOTHIC REVIVAL GILT HARP BY ERARD. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
This imposing 19th-century pedal harp by Erard, in the Gothic Revival style, richly decorated with giltwood ornamentation, is lot 227 at Sheppards Great Irish Interiors sale on May 27 and 28. The column is adorned with pierced gothic arches and tracery above a fluted shaft, leading to a finely carved neck with the maker’s inscription: Sebastian Erard, London. It is estimated at €2,500-€3,500. The sale is now on view in Durrow and the catalogue is online.
A pair of Irish giltwood console tables. UPDATE: THESE MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER
A pair of Irish giltwood console tables, a Cork shipwreck by Richard Peterson Atkinson, 19th century porcelain birds, possibly Meissen and a Donegal carpet attributed to C F A Voysey – trappings typical of a grand Irish country house – feature at the Great Irish Interiors sale at Sheppards in Durrow on May 27-28.
More than 1,300 lots showcase the rich history of antiques, art and decorative objects rooted in the grand tour, the Enlightenment and trade links with China and the Middle East that once abounded in the houses of Ireland. Lots like a large French tapestry, a Sevres style mantel clock, a bronze sculpture of a Roman charioteer on a marble plinth attest to a past which focused both on collection from abroad and promotion of local skills. The latter resulted in lots on offer like an exceptional Killarney davenport, fine Irish silver and antique furniture made by skilled craftspeople in Ireland. The auction is on view in Durrow from today and the catalogue is online.
City of New York aground on Daunt Rock, 1864, a watercolour by Richard Peterson Atkinson. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER
