An Irish Library – the sale at James Adam in Dublin at noon next on April 17 – reflects the sort of weird and wonderful idea of the library in an Irish country house. This is as repository for all sorts of exotica. This interesting sale offers a range of books, furniture, art, taxidermy and militaria. Ten coloured engravings by Giovanni Ottaviani of Raphael’s Loggia, an outstanding pair of celestial and terrestrial globes, a pair of Irish carved side tables, a magnificent George II secretaire and a Killarney davenport are among the prime lots There is art by Richard Carver, Edwin Hayes and Erskine Nicol and taxidermy includes antlers, a wild boar, a lion and a bear cub. The catalogue is online.
A pair of George IV celestial and terrestrial globes by Newton UPDATE: THESE MADE 30,000 AT HAMMER
With everything from a portrait of Lord Tracton to the Dennis silver tray which recounts in Victorian detail the sterling efforts of a magistrate in Wicklow to repress insubordination along the borders of Wicklow, Carlow and Kildare in 1822 the Fortgranite house contents sale by Fonsie Mealy next Tuesday offers much to tempt collectors. Among more than 850 lots are a Qing Dynasty cabinet, war medals from both World Wars, a Boer war letter from Winston Churchill and a Qing Dynasty cabinet. Fortgranite in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow was the home of the Dennis family for three centuries. They were originally Swifts, related to Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick’s, satirist and creator of Gulliver’s Travels, who changed their name to inherit an estate at Tracton in Cork. This inheritance was highlighted on these pages last Saturday through lot 428, letters patent on vellum from King George III granting the title Baron Tracton to James Dennis, son of a timber merchant of Kinsale, who died childless in 1782.The lavishly decorated Dennis silver tray, made in Dublin in 1822, was presented by local bigwigs to Thomas Stratford Dennis: ” …. for his conspicuous Zeal and active intrepidity as a Magistrate of their County And for his successful exertions in repressing the spirit of insubordination and contempt for the Laws which prevailed along the borders of the Counties of Wicklow Carlow and Kildare in the year 1822″. That year marked an ongoing economic slump following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, a disastrous potato crop failure and agrarian unrest.Lot 358 is a tooled gilt binding published in London in 1741 and estimated at 1,000-1,500. By Lewis Riccoboni it is an historical account of the Italian, Spanish, French, English, Dutch, Flemish and German theatres. The carved hardwood Qing Dynasty cabinet, purchased in Hong Kong, is estimated at 2,000-3,000. A portrait of Esther Johnson in the style of James Latham is estimated at 7,000-10,000. She was Dean Swift’s Stella and rumoured to have been his wife.
UPDATE: The sale realised 660,000 on the hammer and was 95% sold. The top lot was an Irish George II hunt table which made 25,000 at hammer.
A 1741 edition of the history of theatres in Europe UPDATE: THIS MADE 620 AT HAMMER: THE DENNIS SILVER TRAY SOLD FOR 12,000
The Cell Door, Robben Island, by Nelson Mandela comes up at Bonhams in New York on May 2. The wax pastel crayon artwork created in 2002 was one of the few kept by the statesman for his personal collection. Inherited by his daughter Dr. Pumla Makaziwe Mandela it comes up at the Modern and Contemporary African Art sale with an estimate of $60,000-90,000.
After his official retirement in 1999 the former President of South Africa turned to art as a therapeutic activity that helped him express and reflect on his tumultuous life. In 2002 he created 22 sketches about his 27 year-long incarceration, focusing on images he found symbolically and emotionally powerful. Ten of these original drawings were then reproduced as editions of lithographs for the seriesMy Robben Island (2002) and Reflections of Robben Island (2003). These sets did not include The Cell Door, which was regarded as a deeply personal image and one that he wanted to keep for himself.
Nelson Mandela, The Cell Door, Robben Island, 2002
More than 600 books and manuscripts lost during the Second World War were today returned to Bonn University in Germany. The repatriation was facilitated by Sotheby’s. The books were discovered in a Belgian private collection. This is one of the largest single returns of objects lost during the war. Among them are numerous historical works of high cultural and material importance, including medieval and modern manuscripts, medieval documents, historical maps, early 15th-century prints, rare prints of the 16th century and numerous colored bird books. The most valuable bird book is Audobon’s The Birds of America.
How exactly the books and manuscripts found their way to Belgium is not known. It is possible that they were taken by Belgian soldiers in the years after the war. Curator of Manuscripts and Historic Books at ULB, Dr. Michael Herkenhoff said: “Many valuable volumes were stored between 1946 and 1950 in a bunker in Bonn. They may have been stolen during the period of the Belgian occupation in Bonn.”
Charlotte Miller, Specialist in Books and Manuscripts at Sotheby’s in London explained that in 2017 a large collection of books was offered to Sotheby’s from a private collection in Belgium. Many had their library stamps expunged, bindings removed or title pages destroyed. Sotheby’s set out to discovered the true provenance of the library. The medieval manuscripts were listed on Bonn University’s Inventory of Losses.
Left: A manuscript of the “Comoediae” of Terenz, written in the 13th century
Centre:Book of Hours, Use of Rome, in Latin [southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1460-70
Right: John James Audubon, The Birds of America from drawings made in the United States, printed in New York between 1840 and 1844 in 7 volumes
NO less than six jerseys endorsed by French footballer Paul Pogba, the shoes he used during the World Cup’s final in 2018 and an official Champions’ league ball signed by the player will come up at a charity auction at Christie’s Paris on April 29. It is for Les étoiles de la source which promotes integration and reintegration through sport. The newly created association wants to improve the lives of 12 to 25 year olds from disadvantaged neighbourhoods through sport and cultural events.
THE Irish Library sale at James Adam in Dublin on April 17 contains some remarkable pieces of Irish furniture and numerous collectible items. There is a collection of militaria relating to the Duke of Albany’s 72nd Highland Regiment , art by Richard Carver and Edwin Hayes and a collection of taxidermy. The catalogue is online.
A PAIR OF IRISH CARVED MAHOGANY SIDE TABLES, with breccia marble tops (30,000-50,000) UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
A number of lots of Irish silver and an Irish wine cooler will come up at Sotheby’s sale entitled Style: Silver, Ceramics, Furniture in New York on April 16. There are salvers, coffee pots, cruets, tankards, a dish ring, a punch strainer, tureens, salts, a beer jug and a carved mahogany wine cooler, probably by Williams and Gibton ($12,000-18,000). The most expensively estimated Irish silver lot is a coffee pot by Robert Calderwood, Dublin 1728 ($12,000-18,000). The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:
An unusual coffee pot by Robert Calderwood ($12,000-18,000)A wine cooler probably by Williams and Gibton ($12,000-18,000)
Contents from Fortgranite at Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow – home of the Dennis family for three centuries – will be offered by Fonsie Mealy on April 16. The family, originally named Swift, is related to Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, author, satirist and creator of Gulliver’s Travels. They changed their name for inheritance purposes. Among 850 lots is a portrait of Esther Johnson in the style of James Latham estimated at 7,000-10,000. Dean Swift’s Stella she is rumoured to have been his wife.
Other lots include a Boer War letter from Winston Churchill addressed to “Captain M.J.C. Dennis, K Section ‘Pompous’, 2 nd Cav. Bde, South African Field Army”, dated 4 March 1901, signed “Winston S. Churchill” and written on House of Commons notepaper. Captain Dennis took exception to Churchill’s assertion that the Boers had made more effective use of their Maxim guns than the British gunners. This is Churchill’s carefully-worded reply, in which he does not recede from his opinion.
Late 18th century/early 19th century Irish School portrait of Esther Johnson (Stella) UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,000 AT HAMMER
What was possibly a world record price for a piece of Kinsale flatware silver was scored at auction at Lawrences sale of silver and vertu at Crewkerne in Somerset, England today. A c1730 marrow scoop by William and/or Joseph Wall Kinsale sold for £8,000 at hammer over an estimate of £2,500-3,500. The scoop has an engraved crest below another crest and a Baron’s coronet.
This Kinsale silver marrow scoop sold for a hammer price of £8,000
An official copy of the final draft of the Good Friday Agreement was the top lot at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector sale in Dublin on April 6. It made a hammer price of 28,000. Printed at Stormont it contains autograph signatures of forty-four participants including Tony Blair, Bertie Ahern, Martin McGuinness, Gerry Adams, George Mitchell, David Ervine, Brid Rogers, Billy Hutchinson, Seamus Mallon et al. This rare example of this historic document with amendments annotated runs to 67 pages. It had been estimated at 5,000-7,000.
This highly successful sale grossed 480,000 with 87% of lots on offer sold. (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 1, 2019)
THE OFFICIAL COPY OF THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE AGREEMENT
