An Art Deco style diamond set geometric plaque bracelet. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An Art Deco style diamond set geometric plaque bracelet will lead the auction of fine jewellery, silverware and antiques at O’Reilly’s of Francis St., Dublin on August 27. The estimate is €9.400-€10,000. A total of 473 lots, including 286 jewellery lots, will come under the hammer. The catalogue is online.
RARE EARLY 20TH CENTURY KASHMIR SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND BROOCH, CIRCA 1900
With an estimate of €200,000-300,000 this is one of two Kashmir sapphires at the sale of fine jewellery and ladies watches by James Adam in Dublin on September 9. The 8.24 carat stone is accompanied by reports from laboratories in Switzerland and London stating that it is of Kashmir origin with no indications of heating. What sets Kashmir sapphires apart is their colour: often described as cornflower blue or blue velvet, their rich yet soft appearance is caused in part by minute internal particles scattering the light, a natural effect that adds a gentle glow to the stone. Many contain delicate inclusions that, rather than detract, lend character and depth, allowing their beauty to remain vivid in all kinds of light, a trait that few sapphires share. The Kashmir stone is considered the very finest, surpassing even the best from Burma or Ceylon.
There is a distinguished Irish American provenance. Benjamin Aymar Sands (1853-1917) and his wife Amy Kirby Akin (1850-1934) of 43 East 18th Street, New York gifted it to their daughter May Emily Sands (1879-1941) to celebrate her 1908 marriage to the Hon. Hugh Melville Howard (1883-1919) younger son of the 6th Earl of Wicklow (1842-1891) and Fanny Catherine Wingfield (1860-1914); by descent to their daughter Katharine Frances Howard (1910-1990) of Shelton Abbey, Co, Wicklow and Ounavarra House, Co. Wexford; godmother to the present owner.
The idyll of married life was not to last, as Hugh died of pneumonia at a young age and May developed psychological problems and had to be institutionalised. Their two children Katharine and Cecil went to live with their uncle the 7th Earl of Wicklow at Shelton Abbey and spent holidays with their adoring grandmother Amy Sands. Katharine remained in Ireland and purchased Ounavarra House, Co. Wexford, where she farmed.
A c1905 Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch from the sale collection is estimated at €150,000-250,000. It weighs 6.53 carats.
RARE EARLY 20TH CENTURY SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND BROOCH, CIRCA 1905
Ross Castle, Co. Kerry
The Office of Public Works is offering free admission to over 70 fee paying heritage sites on Saturday, August 16. In Ireland Heritage Week runs from August 16-24. Organised by the Heritage Council, National Heritage Week has become one of Ireland’s largest cultural events. The OPW is pleased to support National Heritage Week to ensure individuals, groups and families can get out and explore what Ireland’s heritage sites has to offer. This year’s theme, “Exploring Our Foundations”, invites the public to reflect on the structures, landscapes, stories and cultural practices that have shaped Irish life over the centuries. The full events schedule can be found on on www.heritageireland.ie
Daniel O’Connell believed in peaceful reform, democracy and civil rights. The 250th anniversary of the birth of one of our most important figures – in his lifetime viewed as the uncrowned King of Ireland – will be widely celebrated this year with a commemorative programme at home and abroad which kicked off at Derrynane House on August 6.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin will deliver the O’Connell lecture at Derrynane House as part of the Daniel O’Connell summer school which takes place in Cahirciveen and Derrynane on August 29-30. The school will host a full programme of speakers with representatives from universities in the UK and the US.
The Bar of Ireland is planning an autumn commemoration with the Department of the Taoiseach and various events are in the pipeline through our network of embassies. These will kick off with a ceremony at the Reform Club in London in September hosted by the Irish Ambassador to honour its former member. The anniversary will be marked by receptions at embassies in Rome, Paris and the US.
Hardly a year goes by without some memorabilia relating to Daniel O’Connell – who delivered Catholic Emancipation in 1829 – surfacing at auction. Lots relating to him are usually sought after. There are plenty of portraits including one of the most noted of all by Joseph Patrick Haverty from the OPW Collection illustrated here. A leather gun case belonging to O’Connell (a pacifist) and stamped Derrynane House was sold by Marshs in Cork for €980 in December 2023. The previous year his pocket watch made €26,000 at hammer over a top estimate of €6,000 at a sale by Fonsie Mealy. Whyte’s sold a 19th century coloured lithograph for €600 in 2024 over a top estimate of €150
His early experience of the French Revolution put O’Connell off mob violence for good but inevitably for a man of his times he was involved in a couple of duels. Among the people he offended was Sir Robert Peel, British Prime Minister, by continuously referring to him as “Orange Peel” while he served as Chief Secretary for Ireland. A half length portrait of O’Connell holding a pistol by the Irish artist John Doyle (grandfather to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) failed at Bonhams Irish sale in 2023. As at any auction not everything sells.
The Bank of Ireland is gifting a statue of The Liberator, currently in their College Green branch in Dublin, to Leinster House where it will be unveiled later this year. An Post issued two stamps by artist David Rooney last week and gold and silver proof coins will be issued by the Central Bank. Local authorities and the Irish Georgian Society are among those marking the 250th anniversary and RTE has created an hour long documentary.
A statue of the Liberator to be gifted to Leinster House in the autumn.
Gucci horsebit 18 carat gold statement bracelet UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,400 AT HAMMER
A diamond solitaire ring, a Gucci horsebit gold statement bracelet and a pair of diamond daisy cluster form earrings will lead the evening online auction of jewellery, gold and silver by Matthews in Kells on August 5. The auction offers more than 560 lots of private sales, executor clearances and pawnbroker unredeemed pledges. Estimates range from €20 to €24,000 and the catalogue is online.
Fabergé 18 carat gold egg pendant and chain. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR €4,643
This Fabergé gold egg pendant and chain kicks off the timed online auction of jewellery and watches by Adams Blackrock which runs until August 13. The body features diagonal gold lines and is inset with three bezel-set round brilliant-cut diamonds. It opens to reveal a textured terrier dog suspended from a moving hinged surmount. The pendant is suspended from an 18ct gold spiga link chain. The necklace is provided with original presentation box and paperwork noting that it is number 43 of 1000 made by Fabergé. The estimate is €3,000-€4,000. The catalogue is online.
The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, the charter of liberties which has influenced legal and human rights systems around the world, will be marked in London from July 23 with a nine week public exhibition at the Society of Antiquaries. The Society, based in Burlington House just off Piccadilly and Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire, owns three rare 13th century copies. A 1225 reissue by King Henry III, the version later confirmed in English law, is featured. A grant of £123,304 (€143,160) from the National Lottery enabled this project, which also highlights the Charter of the Forest. This companion document safeguarded the rights of freemen. The exhibition is open on Wednesdays to Fridays until September 19 and admission is free. Founded in 1707 The Society of Antiquaries is Britain’s oldest learned society concerned with the study of the remains of the past. Pictured here is a contemporary copy of the 1225 Magna Carta, The Halesowen Abbey Scroll.
The Largest Piece of Mars on Earth
A Martian meteorite discovered in November 2023 in Niger, Africa, sold for $5,296,000 at Sotheby’s in New York. The largest piece of Mars on earth was ejected by a massive asteroid strike. It journeyed 140 million miles through space and finally the earth’s atmosphere before crashing into the Sahara Desert. Pieces of Mars are rare. Of more than 77,000 officially recognised meteorites only 400 are Martian. Weighing 24.67 kilograms this one represents approximately 6.5% of all Martian material currently known.
Hermès, The Original Birkin Crafted For Jane Birkin, 1985
The original Birkin bag sold for world record €8,582,500 at Sotheby’s in Paris today. The black leather bag was made for Jane Birkin in 1985 after she spilled her belongings while sitting next to the Jean-Louis Dumas, head of luxury fashion house Hermès on a flight. She asked why they didn’t make bigger bags, so he sketched out the design for a new, more practical but still highly desirable item on the aeroplane’s sick bag. The Birkin bag became a modern icon and the most coveted bag in the world.
The prototype he made went to a private collector from Japan after a ten minute bidding war between nine collectors. Birkin, who died in 2023 at the age of 76 was a British and French singer, actor and designer whose steamy 1969 hit “Je t’aime moi non plus” with Serge Gainsbourg became a classic.
The price crushed the previous auction record for a handbag — $513,040 paid in 2021 for a Hermès White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28.
A GROUP OF NINE AMERICAN GOLD EAGLE TEN-DOLLARS INDIAN HEAD COINS, 1926. UPDATE: THESE MADE €10,000 AT HAMMER
This group of nine American gold eagle coins is the top lot at Adams timed online Jewellery Box sale which runs until June 24. The ten dollar Indian head coins from 1926 have a total gross weight of 150.8 g and are estimated at €10,000-15,000. Viewing for the auction gets underway in Dublin today. A total of 394 lots will come under the hammer.