antiquesandartireland.com

Information about Art, Antiques and Auctions in Ireland and around the world
  • ABOUT
  • About Des
  • Contact

    • MORE THAN 700 LOTS AT TWO DAYS OF SALES IN CASTLECOMER

    March 2nd, 2025

    19th century giltwood mirror by R.W. Clarke, Cork. UPDATE: THIS MADE 440 AT HAMMER

    With everything from a circular giltwood mirror by Clarkes of Cork, an Irish bureau gifted by Winston Churchill and a set of lithographs of Egypt and Nubia to antique pottery from the Della Robia Studio, Birkenhead, a modern home bar and an ebonised Italian dining set Fonsie Mealy’s two day sale in Castlecomer on March 5 and 6 is of wide appeal. UPDATE: THE SALE HAS BEEN RE-SCHEDULED TO MARCH 18-20.

    More than 700 lots will come under the hammer over two days.  The 19th century bureau (€1,000-€1,500) was, by family tradition, a gift from Churchill to General Sir Bindon Blood. Churchill served under Blood at the North West Frontier in 1897 and dedicated his first non fiction book – The Story of the Malakand Field Force – to him. There will be local interest in a 19th century circular leaf decorated mirror and original plate by R W Clarke of Cork (€200-€300) and collectors will be taken by three terracotta blue and white relief panels attributed to the Harold Rathbone Della Robia Studio in Birkenhead (€800-€1,000).

    Collectors of a different sort have lots to choose from like a modern formica glazed and padded home bar, matching shelves and four high stools (€500-€700); a five piece ebonised Italian dining set by Molteni (€1,500-€2,000); four leather armchairs by Rolf Benz (€800-€1,000) and a modern L shaped designer couch (€500-€600).

    The excitement surrounding the discovery of the tomb of King Thutmose II in the Valley of the Kings – the first finding of a Pharaoh’s tomb since Tutankhamun over a century ago – adds interest to lot 542, a set of 20 lithographs of Egypt and Nubia (€800-€1,200).  These are by Louis Haghe, maple framed in landscape and portrait form and dated 1838. The selection of art includes work by Sean Keating and Fergus O’Ryan and there is a selection of antique furniture and collectibles,

    Viewing continues in Castlecomer next Monday and Tuesday from 9.30 am to 5 pm on each day and the catalogue is online.

    A modern J shaped home bar. UPDATE: THIS MADE 420 AT HAMMER

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES, FURNITURE | No Comments »

    ONLINE IRISH ART SALE BY MORGAN O’DRISCOLL

    March 1st, 2025

    Sean Scully – Raval 7 (1996) (€3,000-5,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER

    The Fishing Village by Colin Middleton leads Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale which ends from 6.30 pm next Tuesday.  It is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.  There is art by Liam O’Neill, Felim Egan, Stephen McKenna, Arthur Maderson, Sean Scully, Mark O’Neill, Graham Knuttel, Kenneth Webb, Dan O’Neill and a wide variety of other popular artists.

    The auction kicks off with an untitled (1973) gouache on paper by Tony O’Malley. Vividly coloured it is estimated at €1,000-€1,500.  This is followed by a gouache of a Lily Pond by Mainie Jellett (€1,200-€1,800). 

    Colin Middleton (1910-1983) – The Fishing Village. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS | No Comments »

    INFLUENCE OF CEZANNE IN THIS WORK BY SWANZY

    March 1st, 2025
    Mary Swanzy – La Route UPDATE: THIS MADE 36,000 AT HAMMER

    A total of 129 lots of Irish art, headed by a trio of works from Paul Henry, will lead Whyte’s sale of Important Irish Art at Freemason’s Hall, Molesworth St., Dublin next Monday evening (March 3). The top lot is Lake and Mountains, Connemara (€250,000-€350,000), described by Whyte’s as an exceptional example of Henry’s later work.  It dates to 1933-36.

    West of Ireland Landscape (€150,000-€200,000) is thought to be of Moyteogue and Achill head from the Keel to Dooagh road.  Cottages Connemara (€80,000-€120,000) is a fine illustration of the harsh reality of life in the locality during the era when Henry was painting.

    In the 1920’s the celebrated Irish artist Mary Swanzy was fortunate to be not overburdened with financial constraints.  She travelled widely to central and eastern Europe, Canada, Hawaii and Samoa, returning to Paris to exhibit. La Route at Whyte’s is similar to other French 1920’s scenes by Swanzy. With flattened perspective re-enforced by the road it shows the influence of Cezanne.  The work was included in her celebrated 2018-19 retrospective in Ireland and is estimated at €20,000-€30,000.  

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS | No Comments »

    MAJOR ART SALES IN LONDON OFFER GREAT VARIETY

    March 1st, 2025

    Yoshitomo Nara – Cosmic Eyes (in the Milky Lake) at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £9,027,500

    Van Gogh, Calder, Tamara de Lempica, Leonora Carrington and Francis Bacon are among the wide range of celebrated artists whose work will come under the hammer at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in London next week.

    At all levels of the market the offerings locally, nationally and internationally are appetising as the art selling season gets seriously underway.

    Featured in no less than 17 international exhibitions Francis Bacon’s Portrait of a Man with Glasses III from 1963 is among the highlights at Christie’s 20th/21st evening sale next Wednesday (March 5). It is at auction for the first time.

    An arresting portrait of the bacteriologist Dr. Boucard by Tamara de Lempicka is another highlight of an auction with work by Modigliani, Monet, Twombly and Polke and other luminaries.

    A small and intricate stabile by Alexander Calder, blending movement, balance and colour, is among the standouts at Sotheby’s contemporary day auction on the same day.

    Yoshitomo Nara’s Cosmic Eyes (in the Milky Lake) is a highlight at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary evening auction next Tuesday.  Nara will be the subject of a retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London from next June.

    The evening sale features art by Gerhard Richter, Constantin Brancusi, a pen and ink drawing of a public garden in Arles by Van Gogh, a charcoal on paper portrait by Matisse and art by Lucio Fontana,  Picasso, Rodin and Roy Lichtenstein.

    Magritte, Leonora Carrington, Paul Delvaux, Max Ernst and Giorgio de Chirico are among the artists in the Art of the Surreal sale at Christie’s on Wednesday evening.  Sacrament at Minos by Carrington testifies to her engagement with a myriad of cultures and their ideologies.

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS | No Comments »

    VIEWING FOR FONSIE MEALY’S SALE IN CASTLECOMER STARTS TODAY

    February 28th, 2025

    A pair of late 18th Century Delft Apothecary Jars. UPDATE: THESE MADE 200 AT HAMMER

    This pair of 18th century Deflt apothecary jars feature at Fonsie Mealy’s Spring antiques and collectibles sale at Castlecomer on March 5 and 6. Viewing for the sale gets underway at Castlecomer today and continues on March 3 and 4. One of the blue and white wet drug jars and covers is for A Cucumeris, the other for O Camoemeli. Each has a short spot and the estimate is €300-400. Viewing is at the Kilkenny Road showrooms, the live auction will be at The Avalon House Hotel. The catalogue for this sale of 714 lots of paintings, ceramics, glassware, affordable antique and modern furniture and collectibles is online.

    Tags: ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES, FURNITURE | No Comments »

    ART FROM THE 1950 VENICE BIENNALE AT WHYTE’S SALE

    February 26th, 2025

    NANO REID (1900-1981) – THROUGH THE DOOR (GEORGE CAMPBELL IN HIS STUDIO). UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,500 AT HAMMER

    Through the Door (George Campbell in his Studio) by Nano Reid was one of twenty-four works exhibited by Ireland at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950. It comes up as lot 35 at Whyte’s sale of Important Irish Art on March 3. In 1950 there were twenty-three participating nations and Ireland – represented by two female artists, Nano Reid and Norah McGuinness – was included among them for the first time that year. 

    Both Reid and McGuinness were prominent figures in the Irish arts scene and had studied at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. They travelled to London and Paris and were advocates of a modernist style of painting. Their work had been showcased on the international stage before, at the Irish Exhibition of Living Artists (IELA) and the Exhibition of Contemporary Irish Painting organised by the Cultural Relations Committee of Ireland which toured the USA in 1950. At Venice they received largely positive feedback. Italian critic Umberto Apollonio praised Reid’s ‘audacious expressionism’ while James White (who wrote the catalogue entry for the artists at Venice) claimed the critics were ‘amazed to learn that Reid was a woman artist’ because of her strongly expressionist style. McGuinness’ work was described as having ‘vibrating and rather evocative tonality’ and Italian President Luigi Einaudi acquired her painting The Black Church. Among their competition in 1950 were artists – mostly men – known today by their surnames alone, Braque, de Kooning, Dalí, Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, Rivera, Pollock. The grand prize for painting was won by Henri Matisse, and men took all the other awards.

    Through the Door (George Campbell in his Studio) depicts Reid’s friend and fellow artist standing purposefully in front of his easel. The door is used as a device to bring the viewer into the composition which is framed by a bold use of line and colour employed to dramatic effect to cut through the dark palette. The painting is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.

    Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS | No Comments »

    INDIAN PAINTING AND ENGLISH DESIGN SCORE AT ADAMS IN DUBLIN

    February 25th, 2025

    JAMINI PRAKASH GANGOOLY (INDIAN, 1876-1953) – On the beach at sunset

    This oil on canvas by Jamini Prakash Gangooly made a hammer price of €15,000 at the At Home sale at James Adam in Dublin today. It had been estimated at €2,000-€3,000. The artist was a member of the Tagore family and a nephew of the poet and Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. A master painter he was celebrated both for his luminous and beautiful landscapes and his portraits.

    A Victorian porcelain vase by Christopher Dresser made €8,500 at hammer over a top estimate of €2,000. Born in Glasgow Christopher Dresser became Britain’s first professional, independent, industrial designeR. He was one of the most influential design reformers of the 19th century.

     CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) – VICTORIAN ‘CLOISONNÉ’ PORCELAIN VASE

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES | No Comments »

    Castle Howard Fabergé animals at Sotheby’s

    February 24th, 2025

    A large Fabergé jewelled obsidian model of a rhinoceros, St Petersburg, circa 1900 (£50,000-£70,000)

    One of the last important groups of Fabergé animals in private hands will be sold by Castle Howard at Sotheby’s in May. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the restoration of the long lost tapestry drawing room at the castle. The collection of some 30 rare and beautiful carvings is similar to those owned by the British Royal Family and members of the Russian Imperial Court. With the latter
    disassembled by Revolution and the former still held in the Royal Collection, the sale marks an opportunity for collectors to acquire pieces that fully demonstrate why Fabergé earned a prime position in royal and noble collections throughout Europe.

    The pieces range from a tiny vole carved of smoky quartz to a commanding obsidian rhinoceros, a captivating bloodstone anteater to a charming series of woodland animals. Alongside the menagerie, the collection also includes Fabergé and European desk accessories.

    Part of the proceeds from the auction will contribute to the restoration of the Tapestry Drawing Room, gutted by a devastating fire in 1940. It has remained a shell ever since. As part of a major renovation of Castle Howard’s historic interiors, from April 2025, visitors will be able to see the fully restored and decorated space, with the tapestries that originally hung in the room returned to their original positions.

    A group from the collection.

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES | No Comments »

    TONY O’MALLEY GOUACHE AT O’DRISCOLL ONLINE ART SALE

    February 24th, 2025

    Tony O’Malley (1913-2003) – Untitled (1973) UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,300 AT HAMMER

    This gouache on paper by Tony O’Malley kicks off Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish art online auction which runs until March 4. One of Ireland’s leading painters O’Malley settled in St. Ives in 1960 and was part of the artistic community there though is painting never completely assimilated the formality of British abstract painters. This work is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. The catalogue for the sale is online.

    Tags: ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS | No Comments »

    AT HOME INTERIORS SALE ON VIEW AT ADAMS

    February 23rd, 2025

     A 19th century console table (€1,000-€1,500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER

    An 18th century marquetry inlaid longcase clock (€3,000-€5,000) is the most expensively estimated lot at the online interiors “At Home” auction now on view at Adams in Dublin. On offer are contents from the 18th century Springfield House, Celbridge and some lots from Buswell’s Hotel in Dublin.

    Among the latter are a pair of 19th century Famille Rose vases (€600-€1,000) and a pair of French boulle tortoiseshell inlaid and ebonised side cabinets (€1,500-€2,000).  Highlights from Springfield House include a large giltwood and gesso mirror (€2,000-€3,000), a 19th century console table with marble top (€1,000-€1,500), the Wales made longcase clock mentioned above and two 20th century recumbent bronze hounds.  There is a good selection of paintings including 19th century copies of art by Caravaggio, Corregio and Rembrandt.  Nearly 500 lots are to be sold and the auction gets underway at 11 am on February 25.

    Alfred de Breanski snr. (1852-1928) – Burnham Beeches near Windsor (€1,000-€2,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 500 AT HAMMER

    Tags: ,
    Posted in ART, AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES, FURNITURE | No Comments »

    « Older Entries
    Newer Entries »