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    ANNUAL GARDEN SALE BY KEIGHERY’S IN WATERFORD

    Saturday, April 12th, 2025

     Art Nouveau style birdbath. UPDATE: THIS MADE 220 AT HAMMER

    Opportunities to spring into outdoor action abound at the annual garden sale by R.J. Keighery in Waterford on April 14. Cast iron garden seats in gothic and other styles, glazed and cast iron urns, stone troughs, a pair of large terracotta lions, staddle stones or mushrooms, even some anvils to forge a nod to the past with potential to find a hitherto unforeseen new use in some sunny or shady spot. 

    In the 21st century gardens are for living in and this sale offers oodles of decor to enhance suburban spaces and balconies of any size among more than 700 lots.  Gothic style mirrors could work in many spaces and a magnificent pair of forged black powder coated and galvanised entrance gates will undoubtedly be just the ticket for someone. There ought to be demand for some salvaged forged field gates too. The sale, with its selection of old cast iron water pumps, birdbaths, lanterns and blue porcelain conservatory seats, is on view today and tomorrow and the catalogue is online.

    LOTS OF CLOCK TO SPRING FORWARD AT IRISH MUSEUM OF TIME

    Saturday, March 29th, 2025

    Bracket clock made in London by William Clement in 1663

    This is the oldest clock in the world to feature an anchor escapement, a landmark piece of horological engineering.  Made by William Clement in London in 1663 it is among the prized possessions of the Irish Museum of Time in Waterford. The museum’s collection spans centuries, showcasing a diverse array of timepieces, including turret clocks that once adorned the steeples of churches, and a remarkable display of ten grandfather clocks that chart the evolution of Irish clock-making from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. These objects are displayed alongside pieces from across the globe, demonstrating the breadth of horological craftsmanship. Visitors can view clocks from the US, UK, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Japan, and more, each offering a unique insight into the art of timekeeping.

    As the clocks move forward by one hour at 1 am March 30, 2025, a dedicated team of staff and volunteers at The Irish Museum of Time will be busy preparing to adjust over 600 clocks, marking the start of daylight saving time. This bi-annual tradition requires careful attention and precision, as each timepiece must be meticulously reset. 

    JEWELLERY BOX SALE AT JAMES ADAM IN DUBLIN

    Friday, March 7th, 2025

    JEWELLERY GROUP LOT. UPDATE: THIS LOT MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER

    This group is lot 33 at Adams Jewellery Box timed online sale which runs until March 11. It comprises an 18 ct gold ring, a smokey quartz fob seal pendant, a 9 ct gold Claddagh ring, a gold bracelet, a shell cameo bracelet, a gold ring, an emerald and diamond ring, a swivel fob pendant and a nine carat gold chain. The estimate is €700-900. The auction is on view in Dublin from today and the catalogue is online.

    AN OLD BENTLEY AND PERHAPS A PICASSO TOO?

    Monday, January 13th, 2025

    Aidan Foley will offer this Bentley at Ashford auction. UPDATE: THIS MADE 26,000 AT HAMMER

    Not every kitchen clear out yields a Bentley, the bronze front doors once at Harrods and lithographs by Miro, Picasso and Dali.  But Ashford Castle is not your average kitchen and all these lots will be included in Aidan Foley’s online auction of contents from the kitchens and lodge there on January 20 and 21.

    The luxury hotel is carrying out a refit. Among masses of catering equipment and  rare once off collectibles is a pair of plate glass doors in their bronze surround originally at Harrods.  The large doors were acquired for Ashford Castle as part of a scheme that was never realised. Each one is a single plain glass panel. 

    The Bentley is estimated at €10,000-€20,000 and there is significant interest in it already. There is a Porsche too. A selection of around 50 lithographs by Miro, Picasso and Dali will whet the appetites of collectors.  Around 700 lots will come under the hammer.  The catalogue is online and the auction is on view for three days from January 17 in Cong, Co. Mayo at the Old Mill just outside the back gate of the castle.

    A Miro woodcut from Ashford Castle. UPDATE: THIS MADE 220 AT HAMMER

    THE JOACHIM-MA STRADIVARIUS AT SOTHEBY’S

    Saturday, December 28th, 2024

    The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $11,250,000

    The Joachin-Ma Stradivarius, one of the world’s finest violins, will come up at Sotheby’s in New York next February with an estimate of $12 million – $18 million (€11.34 million – €17 million).  Crafted in 1714 by Antonio Stradivari during his renowned “Golden Period” it is being offered by the New England Conservatory with all proceeds dedicated to student scholarships.  Before it was gifted to NEC it belonged to the late Si-Hon Ma, a violinist and pedagogue who graduated from NEC in the 1950s. It was given to the school with the provision that it could one day be sold to provide student scholarships. Before Ma, the violin was owned by Joseph Joachim whose collaborations with composers like Johannes Brahms shaped the course of classical music. It is likely that this violin premiered the Brahms Violin Concerto in 1879 asJoachim was one of the most influential violinists of the 19th century. What sets the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius apart according to Sotheby’s is its exceptional sound—rich, complex, and full of depth. The tone is both sweet and rounded.

    HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO READERS OF ANTIQUESANDARTIRELAND.COM

    Tuesday, December 24th, 2024

    The Madonna and Child, from the Book of Kells, at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, c800

    This earliest western illustration of the Madonna and Child from the Book of Kells dates to around 800 AD. Regarded as a masterwork of western calligraphy the illustrated manuscript of the four gospels was created in a Columban monastery and takes its name from the Abbey at Kells, Co. Meath which was its home for centuries. The Book of Kells represents insular art at its high point. The term derives from the Latin insula meaning island and relates to a time when Ireland and Britain shared a common style different from the rest of Europe. A very Happy Christmas from antiquesandartireland.com

    SOTHEBY’S TO CLOSE ITS IRISH OFFICE AT THE END OF FEBRUARY

    Tuesday, December 17th, 2024

    FRIDAY FARE BY NANO REID SOLD FOR £57,600 AT SOTHEBYS MODERN BRITISH AND IRISH SALE IN LONDON IN NOVEMBER

    Sotheby’s is to close its Irish office at the end of February as part of an international cost cutting exercise. The company plans to continue to serve its Irish clients in ways that are as yet unannounced. The Irish office opened first in 1978 and Arabella Bishop has been Irish Director for the past 25 years.

    Trade restrictions that followed Britain’s departure from the EU created extra expense and red tape for the London auctioneers when it came to sourcing works here for sale in London. Sotheby’s is suffering internationally from a decline in auction sales, about 70 staff in London have recently been let go, offices in Moscow and Bangkok have been closed and presence in other cities has been reduced. Layoffs globally account for about six per cent of the workforce. Sotheby’s has faced increasing competition from online platforms and niche marketplaces that cater to a new generation of collectors. This cost-cutting follows the taking of a minority stake in the company, owned by French Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi, by an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, in a deal valued at $1bn.

    THE JEWELLERY BOX SALE AT ADAMS ONLINE

    Sunday, December 15th, 2024

     A ruby and diamond bracelet

    Fresh from the success of a Fine Jewellery sale earlier this month where the top lot, a Bulgari ruby and diamond dress ring, made €40,000, double the top estimate, the Adams jewellery box online only sale runs until December 17.  The catalogue features 370 lots.  A group of three enamel brooches each designed as a bow, an emerald and diamond torque necklace, a ruby and diamond bracelet and a gold and diamond brooch designed as a ballerina are all included.

    UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD. The top lot was a synthetic sapphire and diamond bracelet which made €7,500 at hammer.

    DUBLIN VIEWINGS BEGIN AT ADAMS FOR FOUR AUCTIONS

    Friday, November 29th, 2024

    Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957) – HORSEMEN (1947). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD AT THE AUCTION AND CHANGED HANDS LATER FOR A HAMMER PRICE OF €400,000

    Viewing gets underway at Adams in Dublin today for four upcoming sales, Fine Jewellery (December 3), Important Irish Art (December 4), Fine Watches (December 5) and Fine Wines and Spirits on December 6. The art sale includes outstanding paintings by Jack B. Yeats from the collection of Vincent and Jacqueline O’Brien, and works from the Hon. Francis D. Murnaghan Jr. Collection and is headed by Horsemen by Yeats with an estimate of €500,000-800,000.

    MAJOR EUROPEAN NETWORK OF FORGED ART BUSTED BY POLICE IN ITALY

    Tuesday, November 12th, 2024

    A major European criminal network forging and selling artworks by some of the biggest names in modern art  including works attributed to Banksy, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso has been broken up by police in Italy. Six forgery workshops were uncovered – two in Tuscany, one in Venice as well as in Spain and in Belgium – and 38 people were arrested.

    Those arrested face charges of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, forgery and illegal sale of artworks, the Carabinieri cultural squad and the Pisa prosecutors’ office said in a joint statement on Monday. Authorities were tipped off in 2023 after they seized about 200 fake pieces from the collection of a businessman in Pisa, including a copy of a drawing by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani. Other artists impersonated included Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Henry Moore, Gustav Klimt, Joan Mirò, Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon and Piet Mondrian. More than 2,100 forged artworks were recovered with a potential sale value of about €200 million.