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    • LURE OF RHINO HORN BRINGS MAGIC TO MEALY’S

    October 4th, 2011

    This Chinese carved antique rhino horn made 75,000 at hammer at Mealy's.

    THE lure of the rhino horn worked its magic in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny today.    The sale of an antique horn for 75,000 to a Beijing buyer helped Mealy’s to their most successful day ever.  A 19th century massive antique Chinese carved full tip rhonoceros horn “Lotus” libation cup sold for 75,000 on day one of a two day fine and decorative art sale.  A Beijing buyer snapped it up.  The 15.5 inch high horn, described as probably Qing Dynasty, is in the form of a lotus leaf on a curved stem.  Profusely carved, it incorporates typical motifs such as flowers, crabs bats, birds and mythical creatures.

    The luck of the Chinese did not end there.  An Imperial carved laquer Dragon Vase made 65,000 at the same sale. It went to another Beijing buyer.  The seal mark on the vase is inscribed in Chinese and Manchu “Yang Xin Dian” of the Forbidden Palace, Beijing. The Qianlong period red lacquer vase is carved on bronze with four five-clawed dragons in relief against a basket type weave design.  The rim is carved with Greek key, leaf scroll and floral design.  The vase is flanked with two bronze deer head handles, the body is carved with Chinese emblems and symbols on a circular floral carved foot.

    A 19th century tall Chinese full-tip Rhinoceros horn depicting a man and child by a flowering lotus tree with scrolling openwork branches on a lotus carved dome foot made 43,000. With just half of the 1,200 lots on offer sold on day one the sale has already realised around 400,000.  This exceeds the internal estimate by Mealy’s for the entire two day sale.  The auction continues on October 5.

    See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 26.

    A Chinese full-tip Rhinoceros horn carving made 43,000 at hammer at Mealy's.

    This Dragon Vase made 65,000 at hammer at Mealy's.

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    CHINESE CHAIRS MAKE 69,000 AT IRISH AUCTION

    October 4th, 2011

    The 69,000 euro pair of chairs.

    THIS pair of Chinese chairs, estimated at 1,500-2,500, was the surprise of the sale at Sheppards in Durrow.  They became the most expensive items of Chinese furniture ever sold in Ireland when they made 69,000.  The chairs had been bought in China and brought back to Ireland.

    They are now going back there.  The buyer, who bid on-line live on the internet, lives in Beijing.  They had been described in the catalogue simply as a pair of eighteenth/nineteenth-century Chinese huanghuali hooped backed ceremonial chairs, each with a rattan seat, raised on square legs, joined by stretcher rails.

    See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for September 22.

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    FORTE COLLECTION OF LOWRY’S AT CHRISTIE’S IN NOVEMBER

    October 3rd, 2011

    THE  highest quality group of works by L.S. Lowry to come to the market will be sold at Christie’s inaugural evening sale of 20th Century British & Irish Art in London next November 16.  The Lord Forte Collection of 14 piantings is being sold by the descendants of Lord Forte (1908-2007).  The Forte family name is synonymous with the world famous hotel brand which was established by the entrepreneurial magnate Charles Forte who created a worldwide empire of restaurants and hotels from virtually nothing.

    UPDATE:

    The inaugural evening sale of 20th Century British & Irish Art including The Lord Forte Collection of Works by L.S. Lowry realised £23,625,000/ $37,233,000/ €27,664,875, selling 92% by value and 72% by lot.

     

    The top lot was Piccadilly Circus, London, 1960, by L.S. Lowry which achieved £5,641,250/ $8,890,610/ €6,605,904, setting the joint highest world record price for the artist at auction and for the category.

    UPDATE:  The sale realized £23,625,000.  The top lot was Piccadilly Circus, London 1960  by L.S. Lowry, which made £5,641,250, a joint highest world record price for the artist at auction.

    L.S. Lowry Saturday Afternoon 1941 (estimate: £1,200,000-1,800,000). Click to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE £2,057,250.

    L.S. Lowry Fun Fair at Daisy Nook 1953 (estimate: £1,500,000-2,000,000). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE £3,401,250.

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    PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURE AT WHYTE’S IRISH ART SALE

    October 3rd, 2011

    In Dublin Whyte’s will offer a selection of 279 modern, contempory and classical paintings, drawings and sculpture with realistic market reserves on Monday October 10.  There is a classical Yeats from 1949, a collection of fifteen works by Markey Robinson, ten by Joseph William Carey, five by Hughie O’Donoghue and even a collection of paintings relating to the visit of Queen Elizabeth 11 to Ireland in May 2011.

    Here is a selection from the sale:  UPDATE: THE YEATS WAS THE TOP LOT IN A SALE WHICH GROSSED OVER 700,000.

    RESCUE MEN, 1949 by Jack Butler Yeats (60,000-80,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 110,000.

    THE THIRD DAY, c.1950 by Nevill Johnson (8,000-10,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

    SIX MILE WATER by Basil Blackshaw (8,000-10,000). Click to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,500

    LANCASTRIA II, 2000 by Hughie O'Donoghue (6,000-8,000). Click to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

    VINCENT IT CAN BE THIS, 1984 by Brian Maguire (800-1,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 850.

    Ruth by Daniel O'Neill (25,000-35,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 37,000.

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    YEATS’ POEM INSPIRED SYMBOLIST MAKINTOSH PAINTING

    October 2nd, 2011

    The Silver Apples of the Moon by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £115,250

    THE Silver Apples of the Moon, a re-discovered watercolour by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, features at Christie’s sale of 20th Century Decorative Art & Design in London on October 25.  As with so many Symbolist works, The Silver Apples of the Moon is inspired by poetry, taking its title from W. B. Yeats’ poem  The Song of Wandering Aengus.  This is a twilight scene depicting the poem’s character: “a glimmering girl, With apple blossom in her hair  …..   The silver apples of the moon, The golden apples of the sun.”

    Margaret  Macdonald Mackintosh and W. B. Yeats had a common interest in mysticism and the occult, as well as being influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites. The Silver Apples of the Moon is known to have been exhibited in 1912 at the 33rd Annual Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Societies of Watercolours and subsequently in 1913 at the 52nd Exhibition Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts.

    Macdonald Mackintosh exhibited at the 1900 Vienna Secession, where she undoubtedly influenced the Secessionists Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffmann.  She was wife of pioneering Glasgow architect, interior decorator and painter Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The Silver Apples of the Moon is estimated at £50,000-£70,000.

    Here is Yeats’ poem The Song of Wandering Aengus:

    I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flicking out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.
    When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire aflame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And some one called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

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    FINE IRISH FURNITURE AT ADAMS IN SLANE CASTLE

    September 30th, 2011

    A set of five Irish neoclassical hall chairs from Rokeby Hall, County Louth, (3000-5000) (Click to enlarge).

    This rare Irish Georgian mirror is a highlight at Adams Slane Castle sale. UPDATE: IT WAS ESTIMATED AT 15,000-25,000 BUT FAILED TO SELL.

    THERE is an emphasis on fine furniture at the James Adam Country House Collections sale at Slane Castle, Co.  Meath on October 11.  The auction of 700 lots features fine furniture, silver, glass, porcelain, pictures and photography.

    There are pieces from the late Senator Edward McGuire and from the estate of Henriette and Serge Boissevain formely of Ballynatray House, Co Waterford.

    The strong silver section centres on items commissioned by Archbishop Ryder of Tuam in the mid-18th century.

    Highlights include the rare Irish Georgian giltwood mirror illustrated here.  Exceptionally decorated, it is expected to make up to 20,000.

    The sale is on view at Slane Castle from Saturday, October 8.  UPDATE: THERE WAS A 70 PER CENT SELL RATE IN A SALE THAT REALISED 960,000 AT HAMMER.

    A George III mahogany longcase clock signed Thomas Sanderson of Dublin. Provenance:The Hon. A.E. Guinness (3,000-5,000). Click to enlarge.

    A nest of three Chinese hardwood tea tables. Provenance : Estate of the late Henriette and Serge Boissevain, formerly of Ballynatray, Youghal, Co Cork 300-500. (Click on image to enlarge).

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    ICONIC FASHION DRAWINGS BY RENE GRUAU AT CHRISTIE’S IN OCTOBER

    September 30th, 2011

    Rene Gruau The Red Coat, circa 1950 (£3,000-5,000). (Click on images to enlarge). UPDATE: SOLD FOR £15,000.

    THE autumn sale of of 20th Century Decorative Art & Design at Christie’s in London on October 25 includes these iconic original fashion drawings by René Gruau (1909-2004) renowned haute couture illustrator who fashioned the style of the forties and fifties.  He was favoured by  leading fashion houses, including Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Balmain and Lanvin and was commissioned by the American editor Fleur Cowles in the 1950’s for Look and Flair magazines.

     

    UPDATE:  THE collection of René Gruau fashion illustrations easily quadrupled its low estimate. Bidding was fierce in the room, on the phone and online, mostly from European collectors and trade. 

    There is contemporary design, Art Nouveau, Modern and Postmodern works in a sale of over 130 lots expected to realise more than £2 million.

    Rene Gruau On the beach, circa 1950 (£3,000-5,000) UPDATE: SOLD FOR £5,000

    Rene Gruau The Blue Bows, circa 1950 (£3,000 -5,000). UPDATE: SOLD FOR £9,375

    
				
    
				
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    YEATS MASTERPIECE MAKES A MILLION AT ADAMS
    
				September 28th, 2011 
				
    
					
    

    

    

    A Fair Day, Mayo by Jack Yeats sold for one million at Adams.
    

    A Jack Yeats masterpiece made a hammer price of one million euro at the James Adam auction of Irish art this evening to become the most expensive Irish picture to sell at auction this year. This gives an Irish art market a much needed shot in the arm.  The Irish market has lingered in the recessionary despite a strong recovery in the international art market.
    

    A Fair Day, Mayo which dates to 1925 also became the highest priced painting ever sold at auction in Ireland.  The best of Irish art has made its top prices at the London Irish art sales.
    

    The painting, which once hung in the office of Eamon de Valera, had been in the same family for 67 years.  It was chased by four bidders. The underbidder was a London agent acting on behalf of an unnamed client. A number of telephone lines were booked in advance of the sale.  There was spirited bidding in the room before the painting eventually wold on the telephone to an anonymous bidder.  Adams believe the picture will stay in Ireland.   A Fair Day, Mayo’, was originally sold for IR£250 to Mr. J. P. Reihill Snr in 1944 by Leo Smith and has remained in the Reihill family ever since.    After it was painted, the artist lent the picture to the leader of the new Fianna Fail party, Eamon de Valera who displayed it in his offices at Suffolk Place in Dublin. The subject is a bustling country fair and probably appealed to de Valera’s vision of Ireland.
    

    “The 24 x 36” work had never been on the market before, yet had been seen in a number of very prestigious exhibitions including “Images in Yeats” at Monte Carlo in 1990 and at  “The Moderns” at IMMA earlier this year.” A second painting by  Yeats – ‘The Dawn” – also featured in the sale and made 80,000.
    

    Adams managing director James O’Halloran said: “This picture was one of the largest and most valuable works by Yeats to appear on the market for many years and this evening’s result now proves that the market for Irish art is clearly here in Dublin, with Adam’s.
    

    See antiquesandartireland.com posts for September 19 and September 23.
    

    

    

    
				
    
				
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    HISTORIC 1978 MUNSTER V. ALL-BLACKS PROGRAMME MAKES RECORD PRICE
    
				September 28th, 2011 
				
    
					
    The Munster v New Zealand match programme. (Click on image to enlarge)
    

    A detail from the programme. Click to enlarge)
    

    THE historic 1978 game in which Munster beat the All Blacks at Thomond Park in Limerick is part of Irish rugby folklore.  A programme for the game signed by the entire Munster team, sold for 2,800 at Mealy’s in Castlecomer on September 28.  Munster beat by All-Blacks by 12-0 in front of a crowd of 12,000. Many more people claim to have been present.
    
This is the only time the All-Blacks lost to any Irish side. The game was played on October 31, 1978. The official Munster RFC match programme , signed in pen on the middle page by the team, had been estimated at 400-500.
    
				
    
				
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    IRISH ART AT DE VERES OFFERS VALUE
    
				September 27th, 2011 
				
    
					
    Dublin auctioneers de Veres will offer 128 works at an Irish art sale on October 3.  In line with current market trends estimates are low and there should be value available for collectors. The venue for the auction is the D4 Berkeley Court Hotel and the sale is due to start at 6 p.m.  The catalogue is on-line. Here is a small selection ( you can click on any image to enlarge):  UPDATE:  AROUND 75 PER CENT OF LOTS ONOFFER SOLD IN A SALE THAT BROUGHT IN 270,000 AT HAMMER.
    

    Tony O'Malley, Artist's Room, Ferrybank, Arklow, Co. Wicklow (2,000-4,000).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,700
    

    Washing Drying - Mid-day Rest by Gerard Dillon (4,000-6,000).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000
    

    Kerry Hills by Jack Butler Yeats (30,000-40,000).  UPDATE: THIS WAS THE TOP LOT IN THE AUCTION AND MADE 29,000.
    

    Walter Frederick Osborne, Shepherding (8,000-12,000).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 23,500.
    
				
    
				
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