Bronze sculpture of boys climbing a ladder made 7,200 at hammer
This seasonal bronze sculpture of boys climbing a ladder made a hammer price of 7,200 at the opening evening of Victor Mee’s three day Palace Collection sale on September 20. Two Irish Georgian marble statuary fireplaces each made 14,000, a plaster cast statue of Venus of Arles made 4,600,, a bronze sculpture of a majestic stage made 3,600, an Irish Georgian longcase clock by John Irwin of Boyle made 4,000, an Irish Crystal 15 branch chandelier made 3,500 and a 17th century oak refectory table made 3,400. The online sale continues at 6 pm on September 21 and 22.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 16, 2022)
William Osborne, R.H.A (1823-1901) – Sarah Conolly, mounted side saddle on a chestnut hunter in a landscape UPDATE: EACH OF THE PORTRAITS MADE £22,950
An outstanding and rare pair of equestrian portraits of Thomas and Sarah Connolly of Castletown House by William Osborne are among the highlights of the Elliot Collection at Bonhams next December 6 in The Old Rectory, Chilton Foliat Sale. There are few grander country houses in Ireland than Castletown House and few grander families than the Conollys who in one guise or another occupied the magnificent Palladian mansion for more than 240 years. Built in 1722 for William Conolly, speaker of the Irish House of Commons, the house was, by the mid-19th century, occupied by Tom Conolly, described as ‘the eccentric MP for Donegal’, who lived there with his wife Sarah. He who commissioned these equestrian portraits.
“These portraits will certainly be the most important equine works by Osborne to appear on the market since they were acquired in 1992. I expect them to generate a great deal of interest – both from collectors of important Irish paintings as well as equestrian art,” Charlie Thomas of Bonhams said. The owners of the Old Rectory felt a warm affinity with Ireland. The memorable dining room was inspired by the important Print Room at Castletown House, and they commissioned murals for their bathrooms from the renowed Irish mural artist and decorative painter Michael Dillon. The portraits are each estimated at £20,000-30,000.
A portrait of Grace Kelly by Andy Warhol will be offered by Gormley’s at Timeless, the Irish Antique Dealers’ Fair at the RDS in Dublin from September 23-25 with a preview on September 22. Warhol’s portrait of the actress is based on a still from her first film, Fourteen Hours, in 1951. Gormley’s has priced the screenprint at €200,000. The artist completed the edition in 1984 two years after the actress’s death, aged 52.
“Grace Kelly is extremely popular with collectors and investors as there are very few on sale at any one time,” Oliver Gormley said. “We sold one in 2019 for €136,000 and we expect this to sell for around €200,000 at Timeless, which reflects the appreciation in value for Warhol and high-end contemporary art”.
Georgian lowboy (€300-€400). UPDATE: THIS MADE 470 AT HAMMER
All auctions with antique furniture offer plenty of opportunities for entry level collectors. The sort of value to be had is underlined at Woodwards sale in Cork on September 24. A selection of Georgian, William IV, Victorian and Edwardian furniture is all available at under €500. Many of these built to last venerable old pieces would have cost more two decades ago than they do today and defy every current trend simply by getting cheaper. If auction history teaches us anything it is that antique pieces from particular eras have to survive a period of unfashionability and a tendency to break them up. The time to come back into some sort of vogue is overdue.
What is slightly puzzling is that in an era like this one when anything goes antique furniture is not at all unfashionable. The best interiors are routinely drawn from many sources – eclectic if you like – and the stylish modern home offers huge scope for individual taste and style in furniture, art and collectibles. Even if we are about to be bled dry by energy costs and inflation we need to feather winter nests for the coming winter. Here are some examples from Woodwards with estimates in brackets: Georgian lowboy (€300-€400); concave cabinet (€300-€400); George II card table (€400-€500); Edwardian demi-lune card table (€300-€400); William IV sideboard (€400-€500); Edardian twin pillar dining table (€300-€400); Edwardian sofa table (€300-€400) and a small bachelors chest (€150-€200). The catalogue is online.
A new design series by Joseph Walsh – Riverstick, Co. Cork based global design superstar – opens at Sotheby’s in London today. On show is a selling exhibition of key pieces from his newly developed Gestures series on display for the first time. The 12 sinuous works include a large dining table, a sculptural bench, free form lounge chairs, dining chairs and various wall mounted sculptural shelves.
Now in mid career Joseph Walsh is the Eileen Gray of this generation – and not every generation throws up designer innovators of this calibre. A century ago Gray was making lacquered pieces in Paris. This new series by Joseph Walsh, whose work is celebrated by design cognoscenti from Tokyo to Chicago to Paris, is finished in ebonised black. Beginning with charcoal sketches which Walsh translates into scale model studies in wood Gestures has emerged over the past three years. Wood is cut into layers, rebuilt and carved to create an uninterrupted sculptural form and finished in black. Each piece is functional and boldly sculptural. The show at Sotheby’s, which coincides with the London Design Festival, runs until September 29.
A growing selection of free art to enjoy on the streets of Cork city. Ardu – Cork’s contemporary street art project – returns this month with three new large scale murals by Claire Prouvost (Pope’s Quay/Shandon St.), Kitsune Jolene (Sullivan’s Quay) and Vents 137 (South Terrace). The artists hail respectively from France, Belgium and Cork. Breathing new life into old walls their works will be created from September 18-30. It will bring the number of enlivening Ardu projects in Cork to 14.
Irish Georgian marble breakfront chimney piece. UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,000 AT HAMMER
This Irish Georgian fireplace is among the top lots at Victor Mee’s annual Palace Collection sale which runs from September 20-22. Viewing gets underway at the former Bishop’s Palace, Kilmore, Co Cavan on September 17 and the catalogue is online. There are 1,748 lots of antique furniture, decorative interior pieces and garden furniture and the auction includes contents from Benmore House in Co. Fermanagh. The breakfront chimney piece with centre plaque illustrated here is estimated at €15,000-€25,000 and is lot 250b. It is one of a number of fireplace pieces in the sale. There is a big selection of antique furniture, art, collectibles and a variety with a wide appeal to all tastes across varying price ranges.
UPDATE: THIS MADE £930,000 – A WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR A V.C.
The ‘Siege of Lucknow’ Victoria Cross awarded to Irishman Thomas Henry Kavanagh was sold for a world-record price of £930,000 (€1,073,355) by Mayfair-based auctioneers Noonans today. Bought by an un named collector in a sale of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria it was the first civilian V.C. of five to be awarded. Estimated at £300,000-400,000 it was one of only two not currently in a museum. The price includes a 24% buyer’s premium.
Kavanagh, who was born on July 15, 1821 in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath was employed as a clerk in the Lucknow Office prior to the Siege, which occurred during the Indian Mutiny. In November 1857, he volunteered to leave the safety of the Residency disguised as a Sepoy accompanied by a Brahmin scout. The pair jostled past armed rebels through the narrow Lucknow streets and talked their way past sentries in the moonlight, crossed deep rivers, tramped through swamps and narrowly avoided capture after startling a farmer who raised the alarm. On finally reaching a British cavalry outpost, Kavanagh delivered a vital despatch to Sir Colin Campbell and ably guided his column to the relief of the Residency garrison.
Oliver Pepys, Associate Director and Medal Specialist at Noonans said: “Kavanagh’s gallantry at Lucknow 165 years ago stands out as one of the most premeditated and sustained acts of gallantry in the history of the Victoria Cross and the price achieved at auction demonstrates the high regard which Kavanagh is still held in today.”
Pierce Noonan, Chairman and CEO of Noonans auctions, said: “The record price achieved for Kavanagh’s Victoria Cross reflects not just Kavanagh’s extraordinary gallantry, but also the strength of the market for small collectibles more generally where the prices for high quality items continue to go from strength to strength.”
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for August 28 and August 18, 2022)
MYSTERY-SET SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND FLOWER BROOCH, BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
THIS mystery set sapphire and diamond flower brooch by Van Cleef & Arpels made a hammer price of €110,000 at James Adam sale of Fine Jewellery and Watches in Dublin on September 13. Described by the auctioneers as rare and collectible it had been estimated at €30,000-€50,000. Patented by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1933 the Mystery Setting “is a technique which allows the jeweller to model any form, any movement”. The apparently invisible mounting of the stones without visible claws or prongs creates an effect which makes them almost look as though they are floating.
Contents from the Greenway Antiques and Book Store, Mulranny, Co. Mayo are now on sale. Rare and out of print books and first editions from the collection of the late Vanessa Parker, who along with Roger Grimes Antiques has been a fixture of the Irish antique trade for decades, are on offer at up to 70% off. This copy of Curly Wee is priced at €171 and there are three more from the series. There are first and early edition of poetry by Yeats among thousands of rare books and first editions. For the future Roger Grimes intends to trade on a smaller scale and on the internet on https://antiquesandbooks.com
