antiquesandartireland.com

A pair of antique 18ct gold turquoise and diamond earrings circa 1900 from Courtville Antiques (2,995).

A two day event at the Palladian Russborough House in Co. Wicklow on April 18 and 19 will kick off National Antiques Week 2015  in Ireland.  From noon to five o clock each day members of the Irish Antique Dealers Association (IADA) will be on hand to provide valuations.  There will also be a series of lectures and guided tours.

The impetus for the Russborough event is to share the knowledge and passion of IADA members and hopefully to open up the world of antiques to a new audience.  The IADA is striving to get people excited about antiques.  This is a year of celebration for the IADA which celebrates its 50th anniversary.   Full details can be found on the IADA website.

This website continues to grow.  The latest figures indicate that it achieves around 1.5 million hits around the world each month.  There are regular readers in Ireland, Britain, the US, Europe and throughout the world.  Here is a image from Google’s Webmaster Tools showing the latest results.  You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Here is a short video from the Art Institute of Chicago about the major Irish exhibition underway.  Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design 1690-1840 continues until Sunday June 7. (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for January 11, February 20 and March 17, 2015).

Tad Smith, new ceo at Sotheby’s.

Tad Smith has been named as new President and Chief Executive Officer at Sotheby’s.  The 49 year old has been President of the Madison Square Garden Company – a leader in building sports, media and entertainment brands – since February 2014.  In this role he oversaw strategy and day to day development at MSG Sports, MSG Media and MSG Entertainment. With a track record of driving revenue and profit growth the new President is said to have a passion for art and collectibles.

Smith replaces William Ruprecht, who served as ceo since 2000.  Ruprecht had been under pressure from billionaire activist investor Daniel Loeb last year to cut costs and increase shareholder value.  Record auction volumes which brought sales last year to $6.1 million have not returned higher profits, and expenses have increased.

Domenico De Sole, Sotheby’s lead independent director, is replacing Ruprecht as chairman of the board of directors.  Smith will also join Sotheby’s board.

Queen Mary and King William.

The Gemeentemuseum in The Hague has acquired two Delft blue and white statues of King William and Queen Mary made around 1690 and displayed at The Winter Antiques Show in New York last month.

They were brought to New York by Aronson Antiquaire of Amsterdam, which had re-united the couple last year in a coup described by Robert Aronson as the most exciting event of his 25 years in the antiques business.  The queen was found a year ago, the king surfaced last May in an auction house in France.  The story of how they were re-united has already been reported on this website.

At the Winter Antiques Show the asking price was $950,000.  Benno Temple of the Gemeentemuseum refused to say the amount paid, but added that there had been a museum discount.  They will be displayed in a gallery devoted to Delft Wares at the Gemeentemuseum this spring.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 22, 2015)

What promises to be a fascinating exhibition of all things Irish opens at the Art Institute of Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day. Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design 1690-1840 – billed as the first exhibition to explore the rich and complex art and culture of Ireland during the 18th century – runs from March 17 to June 7.  The show will bring together an Irish selection drawn from right across North America.

The programme of events and lectures around the exhibition will include a concert at Fullerton Hall on March 22 where musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform chamber music works by composers who found inspiration in Irish folk tunes and travel in Ireland. Here is a tiny flavour of what is to come. (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 11, 2015).

Unknown maker. Armchair, c. 1750. Ireland. Private collection. Photo: Dara McGrath.

John Kirkhoffer. Secretary Cabinet, 1732. Dublin, Ireland. Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Robert Allerton.

Probably made by the Downshire Pottery,Belfast, Ireland. “Stag” Plate with Harp and Shamrock Border, c. 1800–06. Private collection. Photo: jamesfennell.com.

Adam Buck. The Artist and his Family, 1813. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.

Robert Woffington (movement). William Moore (probably, casework). Upright Piano, c. 1790. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of the New England Conservatory of Music.

Thomas Roberts. The Sheet of Water at Carton, with the Duke and Duchess of Leinster about to Board a Rowing Boat, 1775–76. Private collection.

A huge thank you to all our readers. This website continues to go from strength to strength with regular readers from Ireland, the UK, the US, France, the rest of Europe and right around the world.  According to Google’s Webmaster Tools the number of hits recorded by antiquesandartireland.com in the month to February 5 exceeded 1.3 million.

Online buying at auction is a global phenomenon which continues to grow.  There were bidders from all continents at the record breaking Impressionist and Modern Art sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in London this week.  It is not only art.  Everything sells on the internet. eCommerce jewellery grew significantly at Christie’s worldwide in 2014 with over twice as many sales as 2013. Overall Christie’s sold $754.7 million dollars worth of jewellery in 2014, the highest annual result for jewellery at any auction house, with over 430 jewels sold online.

The graphic which illustrates our figures from January 6, 2015 to February 5 2015 is on the left.  You can click on the image to enlarge it.