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A NEW WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR A DIAMOND

Thursday, November 12th, 2015

The 12.03 carat internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond The Blue Moon of Josephine.

A Hong Kong private buyer set a new auction record for any diamond when he paid US$48.5 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva last night for a 12.03 carat blue diamond. It was promptly named “The Blue Moon of Josephine”. This was a record for any diamond of any colour, or any gemstone. The price per carat for this internally flawless stone works out at US$4,028,941. This is the first time any gemstone has reached over $4 million per carat. The sale last night of magnificent jewels and noble jewels brought in US$139,085,346.

David Bennet, Sotheby’s chairman of jewellery said: “I am absolutely delighted with this evening’s record result – this show-stopping blue diamond surely is a once-in-a-lifetime stone. I’m also pleased to say that tonight’s sale takes our total in Geneva for this year to an unprecedented 300 million dollars, following our record-breaking sale in May. The star of the evening, the ‘Blue Moon of Josephine’ was discovered at the Cullinan Mine, which is owned by Petra Diamonds, and was polished to perfection by Cora International. It now takes its place among the world’s greatest diamonds.”

The previous auction record for any diamond was held by The Graff Pink (24.78 carats), which sold for US$46.2 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010.

Tags: Auction record for a diamond, Blue Moon of Josephine, Sotheby's Geneva
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BONHAMS TO HOLD VALUATIONS IN WATERFORD

Friday, October 30th, 2015

This first edition of Ulysses was sold at Bonhams, they are hoping to find something similar in Waterford.

Specialists from Bonhams will be at the Medieval Museum, Waterford on Thursday November 5 to value paintings, works of art, books and ephemera. Proceeds of the day will go to the Waterford Treasures Museum conservation fund. Bonhams book specialist Luke Batterham will give a short talk at 11.30am on book collecting and some of the highlights he has discovered during his life as a book specialist. There will be a question and answer session about the current global art market and the auction world in the afternoon.

Jane Beattie head of the Bonhams Dublin office commented: ‘Ireland’s oldest city is bound to throw up some remarkable and extraordinary surprise items, we are excited that the Museum invited us to Waterford for this one-off event’.

Tags: bonhams, James Joyce, Ulysses
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RARE DANIEL PARKER VIOLIN AT INGLES AND HAYDAY

Tuesday, October 27th, 2015

THE DANIEL PARKER VIOLIN. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £42,000

A rare violin by Daniel Parker – known as the English Stradivarius – comes up at Ingles and Hayday in London on November 3. The 1716 instrument has a distinctive Italian sound. Daniel Parker worked in the shadows of St Paul’s Cathedral as it was being completed, making instruments in the early decades of the 1700s. St Paul’s was formally completed in 1711, five years before this particular instrument, and Sir Christopher Wren died in 1717. This period in London’s instrument-making history sees luthiers making sophisticated instruments informed by the innovations of Italian makers, with Daniel Parker producing some of the very best instruments. Musical life in London was thriving at this time and Handel settled permanently in the city in 1712.

Violinist Fritz Kreisler played a Daniel Parker as his regular concert instrument which subsequently became know as the ‘Kreisler Parker’. The Ingles and Hayday auction at Sotheby’s includes a particularly fine selection of English bows.

Tags: Daniel Parker violin, Ingles and Hayday
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ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HISTORIC SPORTS RACING CARS

Wednesday, October 21st, 2015

Photo Credit: Tim Scott ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

One of the worlds most historic sports racing cars – the ex-Fangio ex works Ferrari 290 by Scaglietti – will come up at RM Sotheby’s in New York on December 10. In the history of motor racing, it is hard to imagine two names with greater stature than Ferrari and Juan Manuel Fangio, the enigmatic five-time Formula One World Champion. To find a car which so closely connects these two great motor racing legends is the Holy Grail for car collectors and aficionados the world over. This car was built for Fangio to compete in the 1956 Mille Miglia and it was first overall in the 1957 World Championship Buenos Aires 1,000 km. It is fully documented and has never been crashed.

Meanwhile Christie’s is to offer Steve McQueen’s Porsche at the Exceptional Sale in Paris on November 4 with an estimate of 250,000-350,000. This is the car used in the 1971 film Le Mans. UPDATE: THE PORSCHE FAILED TO SELL.

Tags: Fangio, Ferrari, RM Sotheby's
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A BRACE OF JEWELLERY AUCTIONS IN DUBLIN THIS WEEK

Monday, October 19th, 2015

A 19th century sapphire or diamond brooch at Adams or a five carat diamond ring at O’Reilly’s of Francis St.? Dublin jewellery auction goers will have choices to make this week with sales at James Adam on October 20 and at O’Reilly’s of Francis St. on October 21. Catalogues for each of the sales are online. The brooch at Adams, lot 76, is estimated at 800-1,200. The brilliant cut diamond solitaire weighs in at a more hefty estimate of 45,000-50,000. Each sale offers a big selection of antique and vintage jewellery and watches.

A 19th century sapphire and diamond brooch at James Adam.

A five carat diamond solitaire at O’Reilly’s.

Tags: james adam, O'Reilly's of Francis St.
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FRENCH CROWN JEWELS ANYONE?

Thursday, September 10th, 2015

The Dowager Countess of Harcourt diamond necklace of about 65 carats. (US$1.3-1.9 million). UPDATE: TIFFANY PURCHASED THIS FOR US$1,548,718

The Dowager Viscountess Harcourt diamond necklace incorporating 28 diamonds from the landmark 1887 auction of the French Crown Jewels will come up at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on October 7. The necklace is accompanied by thorough documentation of its passage through various notable owners over more than a century. After the Third Republic of France was formed the Ministry of Finance decided to sell the once exclusive property of kings and queens in a public auction in 1887. Jewellers from Europe, North Africa and the United States flocked to the sale, along with European aristocrats and wealthy Americans. Tiffany was rumoured to have purchased about one third of the lots including 28 mine cut old diamonds from the Great Comb a Pampilles. They were sold a week later to Junius Morgan of the English banking family. They were passed to his young grand daughter Mary Burns who became Viscountess Harcourt in 1899. The first Viscount Harcourt had the diamond chains remounted into the present necklace around 1900. It is estimated at US$1.3-1.9 million.

The sale offers a selection of superb natural coloured gemstones, diamonds, jadeite and jewels from the most coveted brands worldwide, including iconic designs from Cartier from the 1920s to the present. Among these is a ‘Panther’ ring featuring a 10.62-carat natural Burmese ruby.

Pride of place goes to the Cowdray Pearls, one of the finest and rarest grey pearl necklaces known (US$4.5 – 7 million). Formerly in the collection of Viscountess Cowdray, Lady Pearson (1860 – 1932), a distinguished connoisseur and collector, this magnificent necklace strung and mounted by Cartier comprises 42 extremely rare and superb natural grey saltwater pearls well-matched in lustre, shape and size. They are accompanied by a pair of natural grey pearl earrings with mounts by Cartier London.

The Cowdray Pearls (US$4.5 – 7 million). UPDATE: THEY SOLD FOR US$5,266,667

A 10.62 carat Burmese Mogok ruby, onyx and diamond ring. (|US$2.3-3.2 million).

Tags: diamond necklace, French Crown Jewels, Sotheby's Hong Kong
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EILEEN GRAY: THE FIRST UK EXHIBITION IN OCTOBER

Thursday, August 13th, 2015

Eileen Gray in a 1926 photo.

The first UK exhibition of Irish designer and architect Eileen Gray (1878-1976) will be held at the Osborne Samuel Gallery in Mayfair, London from October 13 to November 7. It will feature over 60 paintings and photographs from the 1920’s to the 1960’s, personal effects and furniture and it will include some of her personal ephemera and letters. Among these are her architect’s work table and a plan chest she designed in 1926.

Eileen Gray is widely regarded as one of the most influential architects and designers of the 20th century. The exhibition will coincide with the publication of Eileen Gray: The Private Painter written by Andrew Lambirth. The exhibition is timely in that it coincides with the reopening of her E1027 villa in the south of France. An upcoming film on Gray, The Price of Desire, is based on her relationship with Le Corbuser. There is a permanent exhibition of Grey’s work at the Decorative Arts and History Museum at Collins Barracks in Dublin.

A c1925 architectural plan chest by Eileen Gray

Eileen Gray’s Art Noir, Study for a Rug from 1922

Tags: Eileen Gray, Osborne Samuel Gallery
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BLOCKBUSTER ASIAN TREASURES SHOW TO OPEN AT RIJKSMUSEUM

Wednesday, August 12th, 2015

The excitement created by Asian treasures shipped to Holland during the Golden Age is the subject of an upcoming blockbuster show at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Asia in Amsterdam Exotic luxury in the Golden Age runs from October 17 to January 17, 2016. Lacquer work, ivory, silver, silk, ebony, jewellery and enormous quantities of porcelain poured into Amsterdam, the then bustling ‘capital of the world’, to enrich the interiors of the increasingly prosperous Dutch bourgeoisie.

Chinese blue-and-white porcelain was especially popular. It was much thinner, smoother and lighter than the earthenware made in Holland. The making of earthenware was soon refined in Delft, leading to the famous ‘Delft Blue’, with Chinese origins. Coloured Japanese porcelain first appeared around 1660, imported by Dutch East India Company officials returning from the Far East. This created another sensation and, 20 years later, the exclusive and therefore expensive Kakiemon porcelain was the big favourite among the Dutch elite. Dutch interiors changed enormously under the influence of the treasures from Asia. Porcelain was displayed on specially designed shelves and consoles. Imported silk and cotton introduced much more colour and variation in the shape of bedspreads, curtains and wall tapestries.

With 170 objects from China, Japan, India and Batavia the exhibition presents many 17th century paintings: still-lifes and portraits of citizens who had themselves painted among their newly acquired items of Asian luxury. It is being organised in cooperation with the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, USA. The loan items originate in Moscow, St Petersburg, Versailles, London, Oxford, Madrid and Stockholm.

Kendi, anonymous, 1580 – 1620

Majolica, anonymous c1630-1650.

Cat. 40b Chest. Japan, 1635–1645. Wood covered in black and red
lacquer, with gold and silver hiramaki-e and takamaki-e lacquer,
gold and silver foil, mother-of-pearl, crystal, and silver and
copper fittings.
State Historical Museum, Moscow.

Cabinet on stand. Cabinet, Japan, 1600–1630; stand, Japan,
incorporating elements from a Dutch table, 1625–1650. Oak
and Chinese arborvitae covered in black lacquer, with gold
and silver hiramaki-e, ray-skin denticles, mother-of-pearl, and
gilt copper mounts. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem,

Bedcover: Palampore. Deccan, India, 1710–1750. Cotton embroidered
with silk and metal-wrapped threads. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem,

Tags: Asian Treasures, Rijksmuseum
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AN AUCTION OF MODERN AND VINTAGE SPORTING GUNS

Tuesday, August 11th, 2015

A pair of 20-bore Holland & Holland sporting model over and under ejector guns.

A pair of 20 bore Holland and Holland sporting model over and under ejector guns will be among the highlights at Gavin Gardiner’s annual auction of fine modern and vintage sporting guns at the Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland on August 24. This prestigious sale attracts buyers from the US to Europe and Australia to acquire pieces by the greatest makers. Built in 2000 the Holland and Holland guns are estimated at £60,000-80,000. If ordered new today they would cost £160,000.

The sale features a pair of 16 bore pin fire hammer guns built by Alfred Staehle for Prince Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover and 3rd Duke of Cumberland (1845-1923). He was the last Hanoverian Prince to hold a British royal title. Although the senior male line great grandson of George III the Duke of Cumberland was deprived of his British peerages and honours for having sided with Germany in World War I. The guns are estimated at £2,000-3,000.

The sale will include over 200 lots of fine sporting guns, rifles and shooting accessories dating from 1860 to the present by makers including Purdey, Holland and Holland, Boss and Company and Westley Richards.

Tags: Gavin Gardiner, Holland and Holland, Vintage Guns
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A GREAT HOUSE RE-AWAKENED IN DORSET

Monday, August 10th, 2015

The re-awakening of one of Britain’s great houses, St Giles House in Dorset ancestral seat of the Earls of Shaftesbury, has emerged as the winner of the 2015 Historic Houses Association (HHA) & Sotheby’s Restoration Award. St. Giles, which has remained in the family since the 14^th-century, had been abandoned and derelict for over 50 years. It was transformed over the past four and a half years through a restoration project undertaken by the 12^th Earl and Countess of Shaftsbury. Lord Shaftesbury inherited the house and 5,000 acre estate in 2005, aged only 25, following the tragic death of his father and, only a few months later, of his elder brother. With the help of grants from Natural England and the Country House Foundation, the grounds and grand interiors of St Giles House have now been returned to their former glory.

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftsbury (1621-1683), a founder of the Whig party, built the nucleus of the house. The estate continued to be developed over successive generations. It was uninhabited for the latter part of the 20th century. Only a few years ago snow was blowing into the library and sections of the house were at risk of collapse.

Lord Shaftesbury said: “It is a huge honour to receive this award after four and a half years of hard work. It’s amazing now to look back at the project and think where we’ve come – it’s safe to say we’ve achieved far more than any of us imagined possible. Hopefully it will inspire others to do the same.”