A collection of items from McGill’s Bar at Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa will feature at Aidan Foley’s online sale in Limerick next Tuesday and Wednesday. The sale will be on view at Cleeve’s warehouse in Limerick on September 28, 29 and 30 and the catalogue is online. Lot 731 (pictured here) is the entrance to McGill’s Bar including doors and side cabinets. Lot 340 is a gigantic model of The Yeti, the ape like creature reputed to inhabit the Himalayas and among 847 lots there are vintage collectibles, memorabilia, decor, lighting and furniture.
THIS rare and highly important 18th century diamond jewel weighing approximately 300 carats will highlight Sotheby’s Royal and Noble sale in Geneva on November 11. Though its precise origin story is not recorded, such an important and historic antique jewel could only have been created for royalty or a high-ranking aristocrat at one of the glittering courts of the ancient régime – most the French or English court. It is thought that some of the diamonds featured in this jewel may have come from the famous necklace linked to what became the scandal of the “Affair of the Necklace” which contributed to the advent of the French revolution and eventually Marie-Antoinette’s death. It has emerged from a private Asian collection and is making a first public appearance in 50 years. It belonged to the Marquesses of Anglesey, a leading Anglo-Welsh aristocratic family with close ties to the British Royal family in the early 20th century. In 1937, Marjorie Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey (eldest daughter of Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland), wore the jewel to the coronation of King George VI, together with the famous Anglesey tiara. She was immortalised wearing her coronation robes and diamond jewel by the renowned society photographer Cecil Beaton. In 1953, her daughter-in-law attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II wearing the same ensemble of heirloom jewels. The seventh Marquess of Anglesey parted with the piece around the 1960s.
The late 18th century jewel is a technically stunning piece of jewellery composed of three rows of diamonds finished with a diamond tassel at each end. Jewels of this era were characterised by their opulence and versatility of use: one piece could be worn as a necklace or sewn onto a piece of clothing as an ornament. In this case the jewel – also referred to as “négligé” – can be worn around the neck with the tassels hanging or tied in a simple knot. All diamonds are in an old mine brilliant cut, weighing between one and one and half carats each. The estimate is 1,600,000 – 2,400,000 CHF / $1,800,000 – 2,800,000.
Portrait of Marjorie Paget, Lady Anglesey, wearing the 18th century jewel and the Anglesey Tiara for the coronation of King George VI by Cecil Beaton, 1937 courtesy of Condé Nast Archive
This very rare Irish mether is a highlight at Bonhams Vernacular Furniture, Folk and Naïve Art and Textiles sale online from October 4-22. Irish methers, or ‘maeddhers’, are rare and this example is thought to be from the 14th or 15th century, crafted from willow. It is illustrated in Owen Evan-Thomas’ book ‘Domestic Utensils of Wood’ and was once a part of the author’s own private collection which he amassed over 40 years, although in this time he rarely came across any similar examples. The mether would have been used during a celebration or ceremony, when ‘medd’ or ‘mead’ would be consumed from a corner of the vessel’s quadrangular rim, before being passed hand-to-hand using its large and striking handles. From a private collection in Penrith, Cumbria it is estimated at £3,000-35,000. It will be on view at Bonhams, Knightsbridge from October 20-22.
René Magritte (1898-1967) – L’empire des lumières, 1954. UPDATE: THIS MADE $105,000,000 AT HAMMER – A NEW WORLD RECORD FOR THE ARTIST.
This spectacular L’empire des lumièresby René Magritte which depicts a paradoxical Surrealist scene in which day and night are in simultaneous occurrence from the collection of Mica Ertegun is estimated by Christie’s at in excess of $95 million. It is billed as the most important Surrealist work ever at auction. There will be a series of auctions from the collection in New York beginning on November 19-20. The series spans a vast array of art and objects acquired over more than half a century and are part of Mrs. Ertegun’s personal collections in Manhattan, Southampton and Paris. An arbiter of style she was a renowned interior designer and co-founder of MAC II. A significant portion of proceeds is intended to benefit philanthropic initiatives. During her life, Mrs. Ertegun generously supported the Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities at Oxford University, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the World Monument Fund and more. Jewellery, Design and Decorative Arts sales will be held on December 10 and 13 in New York and Paris. The sale in New York on November 19-20 will feature the finest in Surrealism, rare examples of Russian and Ukrainian Modernism, Purism, de Stijl and Color Field paintings.
Ioana Maria Banu Ertegun, known as “Mica,” was born in 1926, the only child of a prominent Romanian family. In 1948, the Communist takeover forced Mica from her native country to Switzerland; she later moved to Paris, then Canada, where she and her first husband settled and worked on their chicken farm on Lake Ontario. In 1958, Mica traveled to New York to meet with the Turkish ambassador in the hope that he could help extricate her father from Romania. There, she met her future husband, Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records. The couple married in 1961 and established their life in New York.
René Magritte (1898-1967) – La cour d’amour, 1960. UPDATE: THIS MADE $8,800,000 AT HAMMER
A pair of Cork lithographs by Robert L Stopford (1813-1898) UPDATE: THE PAIR MADE 460 AT HAMMER
A set of rare Cork 8-bar dining chairs, a pair of lithographs by Robert Stopford of The Cork River from Fota Park and Cork Harbour from Spy Hill, an early lithograph of Cork Opera House and a collection of drawings including one of St. Multose Church in Kinsale from the estate of late architect Bill Murphy of Coolim, Castle Road, Blackrock, Cork will feature at Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill on September 28.
A landscape by William Sadler II leads a large collection of pictures from this house. A c1690 English walnut and marquetry longcase clock by John Bates, Atherstone, an Irish rosewood duet music stand by Williams and Gibton, an Omega De Ville gold wristwatch made for the American market, an antique brass fire grate, terracotta garden pots and a collection of Dinky toys are included. Among lots from other estates in the sale are an antique oak filing cabinet and a Churchill 22 carat gold commemorative medal along with a selection of jewellery, coins, glassware, books and collectibles. UPDATE: THE CHURCHILL COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL MADE €6,800 AT HAMMER
An English c1690 walnut and marquetry inlaid longcase clock UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER
A framed linen handkerchief on Michael Collins at the time of his death at Hegarty’s. UPDATE: THIS LOT WAS WITHDRAWN AND SOLD PRIOR TO THE AUCTION
As the autumn season moves into high gear an impressive selection of highly collectible lots is available to collectors up and down the country next week. The range on offer right now includes everything from a rediscovered painting by Frank O’Meara at Adams, a Rolls Royce Silver Spirit at Sheppards and a linen handkerchief which Michael Collins had in his pocket when he died at Hegarty’s in Bandon.
When the autumn art selling season kicks off at Adams in Dublin on the evening of September 25 there will be much interest in A Knitting Shepherdess painted in 1880 by Frank O’Meara. This small scale transitional work by a short lived though renowned Irish artist, unknown to researchers, has been in an Irish private collection for decades. It is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
Frank O’Meara (1853-1888) – A Knitting Shepherdess at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 24,000 AT HAMMER
The Bog Pool by Paul Henry is at €120,000-€160,000, the most expensively estimated lot in this auction of 150 lots which features work by Jack B Yeats, Paul Henry, Colin Middleton, Louis le Brocquy, Sean Keating, Frank McKelvey, Gerard Dillon and Lilian Davidson. On the contemporary side there is a large work painted in 2008 by Hughie O’Donoghue – No. 37, Stuttgart 7 Hours 20 Minutes 24.7.44 – of a Lancaster bomber during the Second World War setting the night sky ablaze (€30,000-€50,000). Painting and sculpture by Neil Shawcross, Colin Harrison, Edward Delaney, Melanie le Brocquy, John Behan and many others add enormous interest to this sale.
The petrol driven 1984 Rolls Royce at Sheppards Legacy of the Big House auction of more than 1600 lots on September 24, 25 and 26 in Durrow is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. A west Cork collection assembled in Ireland, Europe and America has a strong emphasis on 17th and 18th century furniture. An Irish 17th century leather bound marriage trunk with metal and stud decoration and domed lid, inscribed 1693, is certain to create interest. The estimate is €4,000-€6,000.
An Irish 17th century leather bound marriage trunk at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An Italian 18th century carved gilt console table with marble top is estimated at €3,000-€5,000. There are Regency tables, an Irish oak rent table, a Grand Tour marble specimen table, a 17th century walnut and crossbanded chest, a Cork Regency carved giltwood mirror and a pair of early 19th century Viennese salon chairs among an appetising selection.
Curiosities include a 19th century Cork ebony and ivory octant and a bronze model of a Venetian Lion of St Mark. There is a collection of fountain pens, jewellery from Atelier Jacobi, Stuttgart and art by James Arthur O’Connor, Guido Reni, Norah McGuinness, James Humbert Craig and others. Viewing starts in Durrow today.
A framed white linen handkerchief which Michael Collins had with him on the evening of his death on August 22, 1922 comes up at Hegarty’s sale in Bandon on the evening of September 25. It is accompanied by a manuscript letter in pencil signed by Collins’ brother Sean O Coileain dated August 31 to General Sean MacMahon asking him to: ‘accept enclosed as a souvenir of Michael – in his pocket at time of death’ . The estimate is €10,000-€20,000. The provenance of the handkerchief is General Sean MacMahon and thence by descent.
The online sale features antique furniture, art, silver and jewellery including a Victorian emerald and diamond shamrock bar brooch.
A Cork Regency carved giltwood mirror at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Midleton Very Rare Whiskey – 1988. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This bottle of 1988 Midleton Very Rare Whiskey will lead the James Adam timed online sale of wines and spirits on September 25. The estimate is €10,000-€20,000. This is the most elusive release of the series with only 16 bottles known at auction since 2009. At Sotheby’s in New York last week a bottle of Knappogue Castle whiskey distilled in 1951 and bottled in 1987 made a hammer price of $1,500 (€1,353) over a top estimate of $900 (€811).
Only two Master Distillers have had the privilege of preserving the legacy of the world’s most sought-after Irish Whiskey – Barry Crockett and Brian Nation. Created in 1984 by Master Distiller Emeritus Barry Crockett, Midleton Very Rare is the ultimate expression of his art and expertise. Once a year, Master Distiller Brian Nation honours Barry’s vision by handpicking only the finest and rarest whiskeys from the Midleton Distillery warehouses and carefully blends them to create each annual vintage of Midleton Very Rare. Each bottle is individually numbered and signed by the Master Distiller, the mark of a true whiskey masterpiece. Midleton Very Rare is consistently awarded the highest honours at the world’s most respected whisky awards. The individual nature of the selection process means that each year’s vintage provides its own unique character. Viewing for this sale gets underway today.
EXTREMELY RARE KINSALE TABLESPOON by John Wall c1720. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,200 AT HAMMER
Kinsale silver is desperately hard to come by so there is some excitement around this extremely rare c1720 tablespoon by John Wall. It comes up as lot 119 at a sale of four collections by de Veres in association with Aidan Foley in Dublin on September 24. The estimate is €1,000-€2,000. The auction is on view at Kildare St. from today and the catalogue is online. The 216 lots comprise four different collections of silver, stamps and coins, art and books. Among more than 120 lots of silver is this rare tablespoon and a 1701 Dublin tankard by Thomas Bolton. Coins and sovereigns include a 1943 Florin, there is a collection of stamps from 1949 to 2023 and a complete set of The Tain lithographs by Louis le Brocquy. UPDATE: An Irish William III silver tankard by Thomas Bolton made 6,000 at hammer and an Irish George I silver tankard by Joseph Walker made 8,000 at hammer. The Tain lithographs were unsold.
GRACE HENRY HRHA (1868-1953) – ATTIC BEDROOM. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600 AT HAMMER
Attic Bedroom by Grace Henry is lot 15 at Whyte’s sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin on September 30. The oil on board is estimated at €1,500-€2,000. Included in the sale are major works by Jack Butler Yeats, Paul Henry, William Orpen, Seán Keating, Mildred Anne Butler, William Percy French, William Conor, Mary Swanzy, Colin Middleton, Daniel O’Neill, Nano Reid, Patrick Collins, Camille Souter, Norah McGuinness, Patrick Hennessy, Donald Teskey, Rowan Gillespie, Anthony Scott, Liam O’Neill, Rita Duffy and many others. Viewing for the sale of 149 lots gets underway in Dublin today.
These chairs are from a set of 12 plus two carvers which Sheppards will offer at their Legacy of the Big House sale in Durrow from September 24-26. Described as 19th century stately home chairs each one has a gadrooned crest rail above an upholstered panelled show framed back, and an upholstered seat, raised on turned and fluted legs to the fore. The estimate for lot 1162 is €5,000-€8,000. More than 1600 lots will come under the hammer. The catalogue for the auction is online and there will be viewing in Durrow from September 21 – 23. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
