An ivory c1880 netsuke in the shape of an ox and a herd boy reading signed by Gyokkosai
Animals from the Japanese zodiac in miniature made in the 18th and 19th century are on display at the Chester Beatty library in Dublin until March 23. The twelve zodiac animals – rat, ox, tiger, hare (rabbit), dragon, snake, horse, goat (sheep), monkey, rooster, dog and boar (pig) – represent the 12 year cycles in Asia.
On display are tiny sculptures known as Netsuke in the shape of these animals carved from materials such as wood, ivory or metal which tell the story of these animals. In the Edo period (1615-1868) men used netsuke as toggles to secure personal items like money pouches and smoking accessories which they hung from their sashes. Netsuke became fashion statements and inspired artists to express a wide variety of motifs. Originally derived from the ancient Chinese astrological calendar the display highlights how these stories were uniquely developed in Japan. 2025 is the Year of the Snake, a symbol of revival and renewal in Japan.
A c1820 ivory monkey netsuke in the style of Mitsuhide
This white marble chimney piece of inverted breakfront design features at Mullen’s classic and contemporary interiors timed online auction at Laurel Park, Bray, which runs until January 5. The estimate is €2,500-3,500. There are 653 lots on the catalogue with 208 lots of furniture and 66 lots of art. The top furniture lot is a circular Chinese rosewood inlaid table (€3,000-4,000).
Donald Teskey RHA (b.1956) – Atlantic Swell (2015). UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER
Atlantic Swell by Donald Teskey is at €6,000-9,000 the most expensively estimated lot at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Off the Wall online auction which runs until January 13. The catalogue features work by artists including Arthur Maderson, Mark O’Neill, Damien Hirst, Graham Knuttel, Sean Scully and Mr. Brainwash. The catalogue is online and the sale will be on view in Skibbereen on January 9, 10 and 13.
JMW Turner – Sea View National Galleries of Scotland. Henry Vaughan Bequest 1900
The annual Turner exhibition held at the National Gallery of Ireland in January is different in 2025. This year – the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth – is being marked by an exchange with the National Galleries of Scotland. In an exhibition which opens today 38 Vaughan Bequest Turner watercolours from the Scottish collection will be displayed in the Print Gallery in Dublin, while the National Gallery of Ireland’s Turner collection will be showcased at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. The show runs until January 31.
These watercolours highlight his mastery of light, colour and atmosphere, and his ability to draw attention to the human experience within the natural world. In 1900, the National Gallery of Ireland and the National Galleries of Scotland received watercolours and drawings by J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) through the bequest of collector Henry Vaughan (1809–1899). Vaughan’s will divided his Turner collection between the national galleries in Dublin, Edinburgh, and London, with the stipulation that they be exhibited every January, free of charge. Since 1901, the National Gallery of Ireland and National Galleries of Scotland have proudly upheld this tradition.
O’Connell Bridge by Yeats was the most expensive Irish painting sold this year
The strength of the current market for Irish art is on plain view. Around €5 million worth of Irish art was auctioned at Adams, Whyte’s, de Veres and Morgan O’Driscoll in latter weeks.
This following some sterling results in November. The sale of the Hobart collection – most made up of Irish art – at Christie’s in November realised more than €7 million euro. O’Connell Bridge by Jack B Yeats from the collection of Pyms Gallery founders Mary and Alan Hobart sold for £882,200 (€1,055,890) to become the most expensive piece of Irish art at auction in 2024.
At Sotheby’s in London the previous week Sir William Orpen’s dazzling portrait of Mrs. Evelyn St. George sold for £720,000 (€866,230).
Horsemen by Jack B Yeats from the collection of Vincent O’Brien at Adams
There was excitement around the sale of the Jacqueline and Vincent O’Brien collection at Adams at the beginning of the month. Horse paintings by Yeats from the collection of Ireland’s greatest trainer seemed a seductive mix. Even though Adams had plenty of interest at viewings in London, Belfast and Dublin the top lots failed to sell on the night.
What happened? Had Yeats’s horse paintings put a stop to the gallop of the market for Irish art? The market held its breath, for a long moment. Until the announcement by Adams the following day that the four top paintings from the collection had been sold after the auction. They made a total of €1.3 million at hammer prices.
Horsemen and He Reads a Book each made €400,000. Two other works by Yeats, The Window with a view of the town and Willie Reilly made €250,000 and €100,000 respectively. And Orpen’s Old John’s Cottage from the O’Brien collection sold for €250,000.
Sir William Orpen – Old John’s Cottage
There is a poignant story to the latter work, painted by Orpen in 1907 in the interior of the Connemara cabin of Sean and Maire Geoghegan. The grief they felt over the departure of their granddaughter for New York is evident. This is an American wake. She would enter domestic service and never be seen again.
Paul Henry’s Killary Bay, Connemara, made €210,000 at Whyte’s this month, Old Road, Cahirciveen by Yeats made €160,000 at Morgan O’Driscoll and The Sleeping Sea by Yeats made €100,000 at de Veres.
Killary Bay, Connemara by Paul Henry
The top lot at Bonhams latest Irish sale was a South of France landscape by Mary Swanzy which made €43,520. Snow on the Hills, Rockbrook, Co. Dublin by Norah McGuinness made €20,480 and the collection of 20 lots by the artist consigned by her family was entirely sold. Letitia Marion Hamilton’s Ca d’Ora, Venice made €33,280 over a top estimate of €7,000.
These leading Irish artworks are finding buyers in a market where a lot of works by Yeats, Orpen, Lavery and Paul Henry have made recent appearances. It seems as if volume, rather than dampening demand, is stimulating it.
The market is expanding. Our economy is growing and Irish art is getting more international exposure than ever before. Collectors in England, USA, Hong Kong, China, Italy and Spain were among the bidders at Whyte’s most recent sale and there was worldwide interest in the O’Brien collection at Adams. Our art market is relatively conservative and much more immune to the speed bumps that have hit the international contemporary art market. The indicators are all facing in the right direction.
19th century padauk gallery back side table. UPDATE: THIS MADE 550 AT HAMMER
This profusely carved 19th century padauk side table with gallery back comes up at Sean Eacrett’s timed New Year auction which runs until January 5. The estimate is €500-€800. It is lot 737 in a sale of more than 1,300 lots which includes Lady Lavery £100 notes, furniture, jewellery, Oriental rugs, art and collectibles. The catalogue is online.
GEORGE II CORK SILVER JUG. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600 AT HAMMER
Watches, jewellery and a Cork silver jug are among feature lots at Hegarty’s live online auction on January 8. A total of 350 lots, among them this c1750 cream jug by George Hodder (€2,400-€3,400) will come under the hammer. A yellow gold acquamarine and diamond ring and a diamond and ruby cluster ring are each estimated at €2,500-€3,500 and the sale will feature some antique furniture, art, silver and collectibles.
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 theJoachim-Ma Stradivarius apart according to Sotheby’s is its exceptional sound—rich, complex, and full of depth. The tone is both sweet and rounded.
The Winter Exhibition now underway at the new Art Gallery at Mount Congreve Gardens in County Waterford features invited work by artist in residence Eamon Colman along with Paul Hallahan, Hanneke van Ryswyk, Michael Wann, Bernadette Kiely, Zsolt Basti and others. It is part of an ongoing partnership between Mount Congreve Gardens and Artform aimed at celebrating art in the gardens all year long. The show runs until the end of February. The gardens are open four days per week until January 5 and will reopen again on February 1. Pictured here is Golden Hour by Eabha Rois, a mixed media collage with acrylic, clay and print media imagery.
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
