With just 129 pieces the Masterworks auction at Sbeppards in Durrow on May 16 is short on lots but long on interest. The selection on offer is wide ranging and estimates vary from 140-180 for a first period Belleek basket to 35,000-45,000 for a signed watercolour head of Samuel Beckett by Louis le Brocquy which has been on loan to the University of Limerick for the last ten years.
The sale kicks off with a 12 bottle case of 2006 Chateau Mouton Rothschild estimated at 3,500-4,500. It then ranges through a 19th century French ormolu clock garniture, an early Persian sword, Art Deco bronzes, a 2002 model Steinway boudoir grand piano, a Venetian violin to a Killarney work table. There are some Old Master paintings and a 19th century Italian cabinet on stand with Pietra Dura inserts estimated at 35,000-45,000. There are Meissen parrots, French panels, an 18th century Chippendale pier mirror, a Chinese rosewood screen, a pair of Venetian blackamoor figures and an early Sino-Tibetan bronze buddha.The catalogue cover lot is a Chinese Qing gilt bronze and polychrome censer in the form of a foo dog with an estimate of 15,000-20,000. The catalogue is online.
