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In Dublin viewing opens today for the online art auction which runs at James Adam until February 8. It features a number of lots by the late Fergus O’Ryan and a wide variety of artists. The sale will again be on view at St. Stephen’s Green on Sunday afternoon and on Monday. Pictured here is lot 131, an oil on canvas by Desmond Turner which is estimated at 300-500.
The peripatetic life of the 19th century Irish painter George Chinnery (1774-1852) took him from the Tipperary of his birth to London, then to Serampore in West Bengal via Madras, Calcutta and Dacca. Fleeing his creditors, he arrived in Macau in 1825 and made the island his home until his death in 1852. He became fascinated by the artistic possibilities of Macau’s shoreline and the local tradespeople going about their everyday lives. One of his paintings on this theme, A Tanka boat dwelling with Tanka boatwomen and pigs, Macau highlights Bonhams Travel and Exploration sale in Knightsbridge on March 2. It is estimated at £15,000-20,000.
Rhyanon Demery, Bonhams senior picture specialist, said: “A Tanka boat dwelling with Tanka boatwomen and pigs, Macau vividly depicts members of the Tanka people – a distinct and ancient ethnic group who lived along the shore of Macau. Often viewed as outcasts by the Chinese authorities Tankas lived on junks, tank being the Cantonese word for boat and ka the word for family. Today they are more usually known as Boat People and, although many have now built lives on dry land, they preserve the unique culture that so captivated George Chinnery nearly 200 years ago.”
Advertising posters for various brands of cigarette were once a common sight throughout Ireland. They have vanished in the 21st century. This one comes up as lot 38 with an estimate of 60-100 at R.J. Keighery’s online sale of the contents of the Munster Bar, The Mall, Waterford on February 9. A total of 196 lots will be offered.
This topaz and diamond ring comes up at Matthews online auction of jewellery, gold, silver, antiques and collectibles on February 8. Lot 23 in this sale of 752 lots is estimated at 600-900. The sale offers lots from executor and solicitor instructions, private clients and unredeemed pawnbrokers pledges.
Christie’s has announced the sale of the exceptional fine and decorative arts collection of legendary fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy (1927-2018), featuring more than 1,200 lots of French and European Furniture and works of art, including sculpture and paintings from Old Masters to Modern and Contemporary works. Each object was chosen with Hubert de Givenchy’s meticulous eye and reflects his exquisite taste. Drawn from two of de Givenchy’s most iconic and elegant homes—the Hôtel d’Orrouer in Paris and the Château du Jonchet in the Loire Valley—the collection includes many exceptional objects unseen on the market for decades as well as more recent works acquired towards the end of his collecting journey. Christie’s will offer this extraordinary collection at auction in Paris from June 14 to 17 (live sales) and from June 8 to 23 in a dedicated online sale. The timing of the announcement of the sale coincides with the 70th anniversary of the first haute couture collection Hubert de Givenchy presented in Paris on February 2, 1952, which was a resounding international success.
His family stated: “Through this sale, we are very pleased to be able to celebrate the exceptional taste of Hubert de Givenchy and his lifelong companion Philippe Venet. We wish to share the elegance and aesthetic heritage that they have passed on to us in order to inscribe their vision in the history of art and interior design in a universal way.”
An Irish Free State £100 note, dating from 10 September 1928 – one of only few examples known – is estimated at £12,000-£16,000 at a sale at Dix Noonan Webb in London on February 24. The sale will also include the second part of the collection of the late Gus Mac Amhlaigh of Dublin, totalling 113 lots.
An Irish Free State £50 note from September 1928 hand signed by Éamon de Valera is expected to fetch £10,000-£12,000. (UPDATE – THIS £50 NOTE MADE £10,000 AT HAMMER). A specimen 1978 Bank of Ireland £100 note, and a specimen Bank of Ireland 1978 £50 note each made £26,000 at hammer.
Two specimen Bank of Ireland Ploughman notes: a £50 and a £100, both dating from around 1929, each sold for £32,240. Neither of these had appeared in auction for decades and had been expected to fetch £5,000-6,000 each [Lots 410 & 411].
The three notes were part of the John Geraghty Collection and were all bought by an overseas collector with an interest in rare notes from all countries. The superb collection had been put together by the late John Geraghty and his son Sean, and comprised 54 lots which fetched £183,656.
Among the rarities at the sale of British, Irish and world banknotes are more than 30 ‘skit’ notes dating from the 19th century from the collection put together by Sir David Kirch. Andrew Pattison explains: “These documents, for it is technically incorrect to call them banknotes, are remarkable pieces of social history. They give us snapshots into the cares, fears, livelihoods, humour and pastimes of those who lived and worked in the British Isles for the last several hundred years. Skit notes generally mirror designs of real banknotes of the era. Some, by accident or design, sail very close to the wind, and 19th century court records are full of attempts made by unscrupulous or ignorant individuals to pass them as real money. Many of the punishments were severe, including flogging and transportation to the colonies.”
This Art Deco style diamond and tanzanite cluster ring is among the highlights at Hegarty’s online jewellery auction which runs to February 8. There are rings, necklaces, earrings and brooches from private Irish sellers and dealers. More than 80 lots will feature. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,300 AT HAMMER
This Irish wake table comes up as lot 440 at Victor Mee’s decorative interiors sale which takes place on February 2 and 3. It is estimated at 2,000-4,000. The auction of 1,272 lots kicks off at 5.30 pm on February 2. It includes a wide range of seating in a variety of styles, antique furniture, art and a good selection of collectibles and curiousities.
THE 1916 Rising service medal awarded to Kathleen Lynn sold for a hammer price of 58,000 at Mullen’s Collector’s Cabinet sale today. It was awarded for her service to the Irish Citizen Army, City Hall Garrison and had been estimated at 20,000-30,000. Dr. Lynn gifted the medal to her cousin George Llewellyn Wynne and it was passed on by descent.
The daughter of a Co. Mayo Church of Ireland rector, her upbringing was conservatively Protestant and Unionist but,
like her distant cousin Constance Markievicz, Lynn became politically radicalised through her exposure to the poverty of Dublin’s slums while she studied medicine. She became a suffragette and, influenced by the writings of James Connolly, joined the Irish Citizen Army as Chief Medical Officer. Arrested and imprisoned and was one of only six women to be deported to British jails for their part in the Rising. Following her release she was appointed vice-president of Sinn Fein and was on the run for much of the War of Independence.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 15, 2022)
Joni Mitchell, who has joined Neil Young in asking for her music to be removed from Spotify over Covid misinformation concerns, has always thought of herself as a painter derailed by circumstances. “I sing my sorrow and I paint my joy” she said once. An artists proof by the singer songwriter of an original oil painting of Jimi Hendrix is one of many highly collectible highlights at Julien’s MusiCares charity relief auction live and online from Hollywood on January 30. Signed and framed by the writer of global hits like Both Sides Now, Big Yellow Taxi and Woodstock, it is estimated at $2,000-$4,000.
