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    • CHINESE CLASSICAL WORKS AT CHRISTIE’S HONG KONG

    April 20th, 2012

    QI BAISHI (1863-1957) Pigeons and Apples, courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE HK$5,060,000.

    Chinese classical works by Ming master calligraphers and painters from Dong Qichang to Qi Baishi will feature among rare works at Christie’s Hong Kong Spring sales on May 28 and 29.  More than 600 lots valued at over r HK$400 million -US$53 million – will come under the hammer at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.  Christie’s say the sale will offer paintings and calligraphy from the Ming and Qing periods to the present day, accentuated with private collections from Asia, Europe and the United States.

    SHAO MI (1594-1642) Landscapes after Old Masters courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE HK$5,060,000 US$ 651,728

    DONG QICHANG (1555-1636) Poems in Running Script Calligraphy, courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE HK$ 57,780,000 US$ 7,442,064

    An ink on paper handscroll entitled Poems in Running Script Calligraphy by Dong Qichang is estimated at HK$5-7million/ US$650,000-904,000.  It features work by the poet Li Bai.  This handscroll was previously in the Imperial Qing court. There are outstanding works by Zhang Daqian including the 1969 work Mist Clearing Over Pine Covered Peaks, a scroll in ink and colour on paper (HK$12-15 million/ US$1.543 -1.93 million).  Other highlights include Landscapes after Old Masters by Shao Mi (1594-1642) and Pigeons and Apples by Qi Baishi (1863-1957). Standing Horse by Xu Beihong (1895-1953), regarded as a pioneer who painted Chinese subject matter with the techniques and perspectives of Western realism, is from the collection of General Zhang Fakui.

    XU BEIHONG (1895-1953) Standing Horse courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE HK$2,180,000.

    ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983) Mist Clearing Over Pine Covered Peaks courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MAKE HK$29,780,000

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    GRACEFUL INTERIORS AND IRELAND’S LOST TREASURES

    April 20th, 2012

    GRACEFUL interiors and Ireland’s lost treasures is the focus of an exhibition of watercolours and drawings by Jeremy Williams at Matthews Auction Rooms, Capel St., Dublin until April 28.  Entitled The Knight’s Dream it focuses on the last great cause of the late Knight of Glin, Desmond Fitzgerald, the the reinstatement of Russborough House as the ultimate Irish Palladian synthesis of architecture, sculpture, painting and landscaping. There is work relating to other restoration projects undertaken by the Irish Georgian Society including reception rooms in Dublin, staircases, exteriors, rustic retreats, restoration and re-creation.

    The Knight’s intended reinstatement of the seven principal interiors of Russborough was based on the visit by John Preston Neale in 1825. Neale included Russborough in his 1827 volume of his guide to country houses of Great Britain and Ireland, in which he briefly catalogued the collection, room by room. This inventory coupled with c1860 internal photographs allowed Aidan O’Boyle to reconstruct the original picture hang  of the Milltown collection at Russborough published in an edition of Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies in 2011.

    The artwork by Jeremy Williams on the left is the Music Room at Russborough looking north east.

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    HISTORY, LITERATURE AND COLLECTIBLES AT WHYTE’S IN DUBLIN

    April 18th, 2012

     

    Charles Stewart Parnell original photograph c1880 (200-300). UPDATE: THIS MADE 650

    Whyte’s “History, Literature and Collectibles” auction in Dublin on April 21 comprises objects from three millennia. There are examples of Celtic gold ring money from 1200 B.C., numerous items on Irish history, a telegram about the sinking of the Titanic (see post on antiquesandartireland.comfor April 3, 2012) and memorabilia relating to the visit of President John Kennedy to Ireland in June of 1963.  Here is a small selection. The catalogue is on-line.

    UPDATE: AROUND 80 per cent of lots were sold for a total of 350,000.  The Titanic telegram failed to find a buyer.

    19th Century silhouette of Father Theobald Mathew in Cork City (400-600). UPDATE: THIS MADE 400

    Scarce example of dated Youghal delft (500-700). UPDATE: THIS MADE 500

    1961-63: John F Kennedy press photographs collection including Irish visit, this image taken in Ireland in 1963 with President de Valera and Taoiseach Sean Lemass. (200-300). UPDATE: THIS COLLECTION MADE 700

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    GOLDEN AGE OF BRITISH WATERCOLOURS AT CHRISTIE’S

    April 18th, 2012

    J.M.W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851) Storm at Sea (£150,000-250,000), courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge).

    The Golden Age of British watercolours will be celebrated at a single owner sale at Christie’s  in London in July.  The collection and stock of W/S Fine Art and Andrew Wyld (1949 – 2011) will be offered in two parts, at King St. on July 10 and at South Kensington on July 18.  The sale of around 400 lots is expected to realise between £1.5 million and £2 million.

    The Golden Age encompasses the great age of landscape watercolour painting in Britain from 1750 to 1850. Wyld was a connoisseur renowed for his discerning eye with a gallery in Mayfair.  The sale represents a roll call of artists of the Golden Age, including John Constable, David Cox, John Robert Cozens, Peter de Wint, Thomas Gainsborough, and J.M.W Turner. The crowning glory of any collection is a work by Turner. Storm at Sea appears to be the first idea for Turner’s major oil painting Staffa, Fingal’s Cave exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1832.  Another highlight is Cozens Rome from the Villa Mellini, a precursor of the Romantic movement in British art. A number of works by George Romney include an oil portrait A Mother and Child Reading.

    The sale will offer vibrant and immediate topographical views of regions from London and its environs, to East Anglia, Yorkshire and Northumberland to Scotland and Wales.  It encompasses views of France, Germany, Italy, Egypt, Greece and Turkey.  Estimates range between £500 and £250,000.

    John Robert Cozens (1752-1799) Rome from the Villa Mellini Watercolour (£100,000 –150,000), courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge).

    George Romney (1734-1802) A Mother and Child Reading (£100,000-150,000), courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge).

     

     

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    ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE JEWELLERY AT O’REILLY’S

    April 18th, 2012

    In Dublin there will be an auction of antique and vintage jewellery, silverware and paintings at O’Reilly’s of Francis St. on April 25.  It will feature around 480 lots, including a magnificent antique diamond and sapphire cluster pendant, solitaire rings, earrings and bracelets.  Among the silver is a limited edition Irish circular bowl with gold decoration depicting The Tain designed by Louis le Brocquy.  The catalogue is on-line.  Here is a small selection (click on any image to enlarge).

    An Edwardian diamond and sapphire cluster pendant c1910, 18,000-22,000.

    An 18 carat gold panel bracelet set with sapphires signed Brevetto, 1,200-1,400.

    LOUIS LE BROCQUY HRHA, B. 1916, Limited edition, Irish circular silver bowl, 600-800.

    This nine carat gold bracelet is estimated at 450-550.

     

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    DEDICATED FIRST EDITION SIGNED BY OSCAR WILDE AT SOTHEBY’S

    April 17th, 2012

    Oscar Wilde's inscription on The Importance of Being Earnest A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. London: Leonard Smithers and Co. 1899 ($80,000-120,000). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $362,250.

    A dedicated first edition Japanese Vellum copy of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest A Trivial Comedy for Serious People comes up at Sotheby’s, New York on April 20.  It was given to Robert Ross, a profoundly important figure in Wilde’s personal and professional life first as a lover, then as a close friend, ardent supporter and finally literary executor.  It is inscribed by Wilde to Ross as follows:  “To the Mirror of Perfect Friendship: Robbie: whose name I have written on the portal of this little play. Oscar. Feb ’99”.

    Upon hearing of his arrest for ‘indecent acts’ Ross broke into Wilde’s flat to rescue potentially incriminating papers before the police arrived. At the trail Ross managed to get a space on the route to the witness stand. And it was Ross who Wilde’s increasingly stunned and bewildered wife Constance would contact when her husband disappeared. This copy is a true rarity. Only 12 Japanese Vellum copies were made. Six are known and only one has appeared at auction in the past 30 years. It will feature in the sale of the library of Jaques Levy, who acquired it in 1946. It is estimated at $80,000-100,000.

     

    UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $362,250. The book was purchased by New York bookseller James Cummins.

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    FURNITURE FROM IB JORGENSEN’S RESIDENCE AT DE VERES

    April 17th, 2012

    Period furniture from gallery owner Ib Jorgensen’s Haddington Road residence is included in de Vere’s Interiors Auction at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin on April 22 at 2 p.m. The auction of furniture and fine art from the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries is a new venture by de Veres. The sale includes contemporary design and a pair of Eileen Gray Lota sofas made under licence by the official designer Classicon.   There will be just under 300 lots.

    UPDATE:  Around 80 per cent of lots were sold in an auction that brought in over 200,000.  The auction house intend to hold another interiors sale in the autumn.

    A fine Irish hump back sofa from the residence of Ib Jorgensen. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 11,000.

    An 18th century marquetry inlaid Pembroke Table from the residence of Ib Jorgensen. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 3,000.

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    MOUNT CONGREVE SALE TO GENERATE WORLDWIDE INTEREST AMONGST COLLECTORS

    April 16th, 2012

    THE sale of contents from Mount Congreve in Co. Waterford will generate worldwide interest amongst collectors this summer. Christie’s and Mealy’s will offer contents from one of Ireland’s grandest stately homes in sales in London on May 23 and at a marquee in the beautiful grounds of the house at Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford on July 10 and 11. The London Sale (on the same day as Christie’s British and Irish art sale, see post for April 14) will comprise a carefully curated selection of approximately 120 lots of furniture, paintings, silver and Chinese and European porcelain.  It is expected to bring in more than £2.5 million.

    The collection at Mount Congreve has been evolving since the neo-classical house, designed by John Roberts for John Congreve, was built in 1760. Charles Cator, deputy chairman, Christie’s International, remarked: “This collection highlights the importance of distinguished provenance, comprising works from many illustrious collections of great renown, from the Rothschild family in London and The Earls of Coventry at Croome Court to Studley Royal and Middleton Park, among many others”.

    Ambrose Congreve, who died suddenly at the age of 104 last May while on a visit to London to visit the Chelsea Flower Show, added to the lavish collection at Mount Congreve over the last 60 years. A passion for French furniture was a constant theme during the formation of the collection.  Full advantage was taken of the treasures to be found in English country house dispersal sales after 1945.  Here is a small selection of highlights, all courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2012.

    UPDATE: THE SALE BROUGHT IN £3,447,275, SELLING 78% BY LOT AND 91% BY VALUE.

    One from a pair of George III giltwood side tables, attributed to Mayhew & Ince, with magnificent Italian specimen lava tops (£200-300,000). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE £217,250.

    A Sèvres Vincennes bleu celeste écuelle, 1755-6 (£40,000-60,000). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE £157,250

    George II giltwood overmantel mirror by John Linnell, 1759, (£200,000-300,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE £313,250.

    George III silver epergne, by Thomas Pitts, London 1763 (£80,000-120,000). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS WAS THE TOP LOT IN THE SALE, SELLING FOR £243,250.

     

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    TITANIC SCULPTURE SYMBOLISES HOPES AND RENEWAL

    April 15th, 2012

    Two views of Rowan Gillespie's Titanica.

    Titanica is portrayed as a female figure symbolising hope and positive renewal by sculptor Rowan Gillespie.  His newly unveiled work is located outside the remarkable Titanic building in Belfast, a structure which calls to mind both an iceberg and the prow of a ship. The Irish sculptor, who is influenced by sculptor Henry Moore and painter Edvard Munch, was inspired by the female figureheads which historically rested on the bows of ships as a symbol of good fortune.  Dublin based Gillespie created the Famine sculptures on Dublin’s Custom House Quay and has had work commissioned throughout Ireland and internationally from Moscow to Toronto, Denver and Los Angeles.

    Solomon Fine Art  is offering a limited number of maquettes of Rowan Gillespie’s ‘Titanica’ sculpture, which was cast in an edition of 25 copies. Each one is priced at 2,750 euro. Since it opened on March 31 Titanic Belfast, which tells the story of her conception in the early 1900’s through the construction, launch, maiden voyage, catastrophic sinking with the loss of over 1,500 lives exactly 100 years ago today and the discovery of the wreck, has attracted 40,000 visitors.

    A ticket to the launch of Titanic  made $56,250 at Bonhams in New York. A first class dinner menu sold for $31,250. Both went to American collectors.  The New York auction of 5,000 artefacts salvaged from Titanic scheduled to be held this month has been put on hold.  Talks about the purchase of the entire collection owned by RMS Titanic Inc. are ongoing.

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    LOWRY, LAVERY, SCOTT AND PEPLOE AT CHRISTIE’S IN MAY

    April 14th, 2012

    L.S. Lowry's Industrial Landscape: Stockport Viaduct, 1958, courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. UPDATE: THIS MADE £1,273,250.

    Lowry, Lavery, Scott and Peploe are among the big names peppering Christie’s 20th century British and Irish art sales in London on May 23 and 24.  Expected to realise more than £12 million the sales will feature over 300 lots with estimates from £500 to £1.8 million.  L.S. Lowry’s Industrial Landscape:  Stockport Viaduct, 1958 is, at £1.2 to £1.8 million, the most expensively estimated lot in an auction which features Scottish Colourists, London School artists, St. Ives, Neo-Romantics, sculpture, Pop Art and Irish art.

    Aïda, a Moorish Maid by Sir John Lavery, courtesy Christies Images Ltd., 2012. UPDATE: THIS MADE £181,250.

    The top Irish lot is Sir John Lavery’s Aïda, a Moorish Maid, estimated at £150,000-250,000.  Works by Lavery and by William Scott dominate the Irish art section of the sale.  The most expensively estimated works are all by Lowry.  He set the two highest prices for any work in the category last year when Piccadilly Circus and The Football Match sold for £5.6 million in November and May respectively.  Scottish Colourists feature strongly with work by Samuel John Peploe R.S.A. (1871-1935), John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961), Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell R.S.A. (1883-1937) and George Leslie Hunter (1877-1931).  The Gorbals, 1944 by Edward Burra (£500,000-800,000) depicts urban decay in the modern slums of war-time Glasgow. A key Neo-Romantic work it will be offered from The Collection of Lord Forte (1908-2007) and is estimated at £500,000-800,000. The London School is showcased with work by Frank Auerbach (b.1931), David Bomberg (1890-1957) and William Roberts, R.A. (1895-1980).  St. Ives is represented by Sir Terry Frost (1915-2003), Bryan Wynter (1915-1975), Alfred Wallis (1855-1942) and Dame Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975).  Rolling Over Horse,1980 (£120,000-180,000) by Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993) is one of a number of highly collectible sculptures. There is Pop Art by Gerald Laing (1936-2011), Joe Tilson (b.1928) and Allen Jones R.A. (b.1937).  There are fine and highly collectible works by both Ivon Hitchens (1893-1979) and Sir Stanley Spencer, R.A. (1891-1959). The Bridle Path, Cookham, 1938, by Spencer has been in the same family since it was painted.

    William Scott, Orange Still Life, courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (£100,000-150,000). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    SIR JOHN LAVERY, Boating at Remenham (£20,000-30,000), courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. UPDATE: THIS MADE £39,650

     

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