Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957) – The Duet (1945) SOLD FOR €70,000 AT HAMMER
The Sick Bed and The Duet, both by Yeats, made hammer prices of €160,000 and €70,000 respectively at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin tonight. They had been estimated at €150,000-€200,000 and €70,000-€100,000. Connemara Hills by Paul Henry made €92,000 over a top estimate of €60,000. Fantail, an oil on canvas by Louis le Brocquy made €50,000 (€40,000-€60,000) and The Garlanded Goat, an Aubusson tapestry designed by le Brocquy made €46,000 (40,000-€60,000). Abstract Composition by Evie Hone made €34,000 (€15,000-€25,000) and Lighthouse Man’s twin cats and Washing by John Shinnors made €30,000 (€30,000-€50,000). Children playing in a woodland glade by George Russell made €28,000 over a top estimate of €15,000 and Valley Wind, Jemisa by Tony O’Malley made €24,000 at hammer (€15,000-€25,000).
The auction brought in €1.135m gross and recorded a sold rate of 78%.
Economic uncertainty is no bad thing for the art market and John Shinnors, Hughie O’Donoghue and John Doherty are among the more contemporary blue chip Irish artists that Adams will bank on to deliver a good sale of Important Irish Art on the evening of December 7. Yeats, Paul Henry and Louis le Brocquy are there too.
Line, one of John Shinnors larger works and one of his most significant, is an arresting response to Frank Bramley’s Domino at the Crawford Gallery and is estimated at €60,000-€80,000. Two fine oils by Yeats head this auction of 144 lots. The Sick Bed failed to sell when it came up in 2020 with an estimate of €250,000-€300,000 and is now estimated at €150,000-€200,000. The Duet (€70,000-€100,000) is a more joyful work and graces the catalogue cover.The Garlanded Goat, an Aubusson tapestry and an oil of canvas of a fantail pigeons, both by le Brocquy, and Paul Henry’s deeply atmospheric Connemara Hills are all estimated at €40,000-€60,000. Other top lots include Lighthouse, Man’s Twin Cats and Washing by Shinnors, The Canal Turn, Aintree by Peter Curling, Jasper’s Here … O’Donovan, Union Hall by John Doherty and Afloat by Hughie O’Donoghue. The sale is on view at St. Stephen’s Green and the catalogue is online.
The Canal Turn, Aintree by Peter Curling. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
AN IMPORTANT DIAMOND NECKLACE. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Set with three continuous rows of princess-cut diamonds this necklace comes up at the James Adam sale of Fine Jewellery and Watches in Dublin on December 6. Billed as an important diamond necklace with 45-50 carats in total it is estimated at €40,000-€60,000 and is the most expensively estimated lot in the sale. There are diamonds rings, earrings, brooches, pendants, bracelets, sapphires, pearls, rubies and gold galore to choose from among 261 lots with estimates from €200 up. The catalogue is online.
ANTIQUE ISFAHAN WOOL CARPET, CENTRAL IRAN, CA 1920. UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER
This fine wool carpet from central Iran, circa 1920, is among the top lots at the James Adam sale of the Collection of Mahmut Balkir in Dublin on November 23. The central field is woven with a large flowerhead medallion in blue, red, brown, and navy tones, against a cream ground. It is contained within a broad red ground border decorated with floral vignettes and flowerheads, with guard stripes. The estimate for lot 168 is €15,000-20,000. A third generation rug dealer Mahmut Balkir runs The Oriental Rug Company on Francis St. in Dublin.
A total of 31 bids later the seven bidders competing for this Joseph Walsh Studio piece at the James Adam Mid Century Modern sale today saw it knocked down for a hammer price of 9,500 over an estimate of 2,000-3,000. The table is Ash was purchased from the Joseph Walsh Studio and came complete with an official certificate, Niamh Barry’s Touch Vessels failed to find a buyer, a pair of c1950 valet stands by Fratelli Reguitti made 8,500, a pair of lady chairs by Marco Zanuso made 7,000, a set of eight Danish Model 62 rosewood chairs by Niels Otto Moller made 15,000, a teak Spade chair by Finn Juhl made 5,500, an oil on panel portrait of a young girl by Harrington Mann made 11,000 (1864-1937), a charcoal drawing by Alice Maher entitled Lovers made 5,500 and Rhapink Nudge by Richard Gorman made 5,000.
SIDEBOARD BY ARNE HOVMAND OLSEN. UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,000 AT HAMMER
THIS rosewood sideboard by Arne Hovmand Olsen comes up as lot 37 at the James Adam Mid Century Modern sale in Dublin on November 8. The c1960 model for Mogens Kold, Denmark is titled MK 5II. The estimate if 5,000-8,000. This is a timed online sale which features furniture, art and collectibles and the catalogue is online.
ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM VAN DER HAGEN (FL. 1720-1745) King William III off the coast of Ireland, June 1690, with an English Royal Yacht and the Lord High Admiral’s First-rate Flying the Royal Standard
THIS oil painting attributed to William Van der Hagen sold for a hammer price of 32,000 at the James Adam Country House Collections auction today. Dating to around 1730 it had been estimated at 20,000-30,000. What was expected to be the top lot of the sale, an Irish architectural carved giltwood mirror attributed to John and Francis Booker, failed to find a buyer. The Ploughman by Francis Wheatley made 36,000, a portrait of Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller made 32,000, a pair of Venetian oil on canvas views by JMW Turner and an Irish mahogany side table each made 26,000, a portrait of Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland by Thomas Frye made 18,000; a French carved wood model of the Madonna and Child, probably 16th century, made 16,000; a set of four c1750 George II Irish silver cast candlesticks mark of George Hill made 14,500; a silver model of the Battle of the Boyne obelisk made 12,000; an Irish yewwood library table by Arthur Jones and Co. of Dublin and a family scene in the style of Johan Zoffany each made 11,000; a late 19th century George II style side table by Hicks and a bronze banded short barrel cannon each made 10,000; a suite of 14 George II London silver serving dishes made 9,500; a pair of Neo Classical half circular side tables made 9,000 and a pair of Irish bird and flower pictures by Samuel Dixon made 7,000.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for October 17, October 12 and October 8 2022)
THOMAS FRYE (c.1710-1762) – Portrait of Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland, of Brympton D’Evercy in Somerset (1701-1771) UPDATE: THIS MADE 18,000 AT HAMMER
This portrait by the Offaly born artist Thomas Frye comes up as lot 371 on day two of the James Adam Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall on October 18. This magnificent neo-Classical house is the perfect backdrop for an array of some of the finest antiques and artefacts to come on the market in Ireland so far this year. Drawn from many fine Irish country houses and collections, the sale includes 18th and 19th Century furniture with many important Irish pieces, fine period paintings, period portraits and sporting scenes, Irish glass, fine Continental porcelain and a selection of table silver from Birr Castle.
The artist Thomas Frye was from Edenderry and during his lifetime was considered one of the most inventive of Irish Georgian artists. Internationally he won many important commissions including the full length state portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The sitter in the portrait here was 8th Earl of Westmorland, and it was for his grandson, the 10th Earl and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland that Westmorland Street in Dublin was named. The portrait is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
Day one of the sale is a timed online only auction and the sale on October 18 will be held at St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin. Viewing gets underway at Townley Hall on October 15.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for October 8, 2022)
Irish architectural giltwood mirror attributed to John and Francis Booker. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Some fine examples of the kind of antique Irish furniture that remains much sought after and achieves high prices will come up at the James Adam Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall, Drogheda on October 17 and 18. Leading the auction is an Irish architectural carved giltwood mirror attributed to John and Francis Booker. This one, made c1760, has an arched plate with scrolled cresting and a triangular pediment supported on corbels embellished with leaves. There is an attractive border of interlocking chains within an egg and dart frame. A Booker mirror is indeed a trophy piece and the estimate here is €30,000-€40,000.
A c1750 Irish mahogany side table with a white marble top, central carved scallop shell on cabriole legs with faceted, collared feet is estimated at €25,000-€30,000. Other prime Irish lots among a large furniture selection are a fine c1740 Irish mahogany secretaire chest on chest (€15,000-€20,000), a late 19th century George II style side table by Hicks of Dublin (€10,000-€15,000) and an Irish yew wood library table by Arthur Jones and Co., Dublin (€10,000-€15,000). Made for the 1851 Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in London this table is a real conversation piece. Adams say (and I disagree) that it is one of only four known survivors of an 18 piece suite, the others being a teapoy (sold at Adams in 2014), a wine cooler bequeathed to the National Trust of Australia by Samuel Henry Ervin, now in Sydney and a card table in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Irish yew wood side table by Arthur Jones and Co. Dublin. UPDATE: THIS MADE 11,000 AT HAMMER
The reason for doubt is a carved bog yew armchair carved to illustrate the history, antiquities, animals and vegetation of Ireland that I spotted at the Masterpiece Fair in London in early July. This too was made by Arthur Jones and Co. for the Great Exhibition. Perhaps it was a one off and not part of the suite and Adams is indeed correct, but it is enough to make me wonder. Butchoff Antiques had worked hard on this fabulous throne chair since acquiring it at an auction in Ayr in December 2020. They paid £44,000 at hammer, over a top estimate of £3,000, had it re-polished and painstakingly re-covered. At Masterpiece it was labelled a highlight by the vetting committee and priced at £150,000.
Social historians will find interest in a half length portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) of Lady Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles. It would have been unusual for a woman in the upper echelons of 17th century society to breastfeed her own children. A wet nurse would have normally been employed. Wife of Lt. Col. Henry Boyle of Castlemartyr and daughter of the Ist Earl of Inchiquin Lady Mary is featured with her third son Charles. At a time of high infant mortality he survived into adulthood and pursued a career in the Navy. The portrait is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. Viewing at Townley Hall gets underway next Saturday (October 15) and continues on Sunday week and Monday week. Day one of the auction on October 17 is a timed online only sale with lots 1-281. The live auction at St. Stephen’s Green on October 18 features lots 300-822. The catalogue is online now.
Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) – Portrait of Lady Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles. UPDATE: THIS MADE 34,000 AT HAMMER
IRISH YEW WOOD LIBRARY TABLE by Arthur Jones & Co. Dublin. UPDATE: THIS MADE 11,000 AT HAMMER
This Irish library table comes up on day two of the James Adam Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall near Drogheda on October 18. It was made in Dublin by Arthur Jones and Co. for the 1851 Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in London. It was originally part of an 18 piece bog yew suite. There are four known surviving pieces of this suite today, a teapoy, a wine cooler, a whist table and this table. The teapoy was sold at Adams in 2014, the wine cooler was bequeathed to the National Trust of Australia by Samuel Henry Ervin and is in Sydney, the whist or card table is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The table, lot 428 in the sale, is estimated at 10,000-15,000.
