LÊ QU0C L0C (VIETNAM, 1918-1987) – A Mekong river landscape with a village
Described as rare and important this six fold Mekong river scene by Le Quoc Loc made a hammer price of €360,000 at the James Adam sale of Asian art in Dublin today. This screen is typical of the artist’s work, in the sense that the predominant tones are red and dark brown combined with gilt. It depicts a bird’s eye-view animated landscape, as seen from the top of a hill, crossed by Mekong river arms. The in-depth perspective is created by a succession of grounds. In the first two the artist used a gilt lacquer to depict trees, including palm trees. In the middle on the left, is a traditional thatched houses hamlet. Then come Mekong river arms. The composition may roughly be described as being divided into two parts by a diagonal going from the upper left corner to the lower right corner – thereby creating two triangular shapes – and playing with empty and full. The estimate for the screen was €200,000-€400,000.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for June 25,2022)
STONE-EMBELLISHED GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF AN ELEVEN-HEADED AVALOKITESVARATIBETO CHINESE / SINO-TIBETAN, POSSIBLY 18TH CENTURY
This mercury gilt and stone embellished figure made a hammer price of €19,000 at the opening day of three days of sales of Asian art at Adams in Dublin today. It was formerly by repute in the collection of Juan Carlos Katzenstein (1925-2018), Argentinian diplomat and ambassador in Beijing from December 1975 to January 1978, and later to the Holy See (Vatican) and to the Sovereign Order of Malta from 1989 to 1991. The upper estimate was €15,000. The auction kicked off with the sale of a white jade melon and butterfly linked box and cover from an Irish collection for €15,000 over a top estimate of €8,000. A Famille Vert Month cup with Kangxi mark and seal mark reading ‘Shang’ with a top estimate of €2,000 made €33,000 at hammer.
Lacquered wooden panel of a seated young beauty with flowers by Alix Ayme. UPDATE: THIS MADE 80,000 AT HAMMER
The fabulous arts of Asia – magnificent, rich, colourful, symbolic, auspicious – will come under the hammer at three days of sales at James Adam in Dublin kicking off next Tuesday. More than 1,000 lots including newly discovered masterpieces of fine Chinese and Himalayan art will feature in two Asian Spring auctions and one of decorative Asian art. There will be global interest in an auction series which has been already previewed at the Pagoda Fair in Paris. Irish collectors and those dipping their toes into this market for the first time will find plenty of opportunities at sales where estimates range from €80 to €400,000.
In an era of fakes, knockoffs and forgeries seasoned collectors of Asian art value provenance very highly. These auctions are rich in works from well known collections like that of Carlos Alfredo Tornquist Altgelt (1885-1953); Juan Carlos Katzenstein (1925-2018); Jorge Casares of Buenos Aires and Canadian industrialist Baron Sir Duncan Orr-Lewis. The top lot of the auction is a rare six panelled lacquered wood screen of a Mekong River landscape with village by Vietnamese artist Le Quoc Loc (1918-1987). This 1943 panel is estimated at €200,000-€400,000. From snuff bottles to carved animals to screens and vases there is enough jade to make one green with envy. On day one there are Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze figures, rock crystal censers, blanc de chine porcelain vases, Chinese export porcelain, silver, cloisonne ware, an opium tray, furniture, art and scrolls.
Le Quoc Loc – Six panelled lacquered wood screen of a Mekong River landscape with village. UPDATE: THIS MADE 360,000 AT HAMMER
The emphasis on Wednesday is on Vietnam, Indochina, Asian painters and Japan. There are some Japanese prints along with a selection of art and artefacts headed by the six fold lacquer screen by Le Quoc Loc and a beautiful lacquer panel with a Byzantine inspired gold ground by Alix Ayme (1894-1989), professor at the Indochina Fine Arts College in Hanoi. The artist, once a pupil of Maurice Denis, was instrumental in the revival of the ancient art of lacquer which she taught in Hanoi. On Thursday the sale of decorative arts is brimful of interest. The Chinese incorporate auspicious symbols in nearly every aspect of life, including arts and culture. All sorts of symbols represent their aspiration for a longer, more prosperous and happier life. Lot 701 is a Famille Rose eight boys bottle vase. Three of them are climbing up the vase, and the depiction of five on the shoulders is particularly auspicious as it signifies the saying “wu zi deng ke” referring to the supreme achievement of one family whose five sons passed the civil service examination. (In my view the most auspicious thing about this is that they did not live next door!).The catalogue is online and viewing is underway at St. Stephen’s Green.
A JADE SNUFF BOTTLE CHINA, LATE QING DYNASTY. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This jade snuff bottle is lot 11 at three days of sale of Asian art at James Adam in Dublin next week. The catalogues for Asian Spring 1, Asian Spring 2 and Decorative Asian Art are online and in person viewing gets underway at St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin on June 24. The auctions, which feature lots from noted collections, have already been previewed at the Pagoda Fair in Paris.
VICTORIAN INLAID WALNUT AND ORMOLU MOUNTED CREDENZA. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
THIS Victorian inlaid credenza is among the main lots at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on June 14. The estimate is 3,000-5,000. Other top lots include a composed suite of George III silver cutlery and a 19th century portrait of a racehorse with jockey and owner Johnson Lee set against a gallops. There is jewellery, chandeliers, mirrors, antique furniture and a wide variety of collectibles on offer. The catalogue is online and the sale is on view at St. Stephen’s Green.
Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) – The Bridge, Skibbereen made 440,000 at hammer
The Bridge at Skibbereen by Jack B Yeats made a hammer price of €440,000 over an estimate of €400,000-€600,000 at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin this evening. It was exhibited at The Dublin Society of Painters in 1920. A Pair of 18th century views of Dublin Bay Looking North and Looking South by William Ashford made €460,000 at hammer. Among the other top hammer prices were: Chiswick Baths by Sir John Lavery (€110,000); Sun Rising: An extensive wooded landscape by George Barret snr. (€90,000); Across from Inishlacken by Gerard Dillon (€65,000): Yellow Man by Hughie O’Donoghue (€57,000); Horse on Anvil by Barry Flanagan (€30,000); Arrieta-Orzola (Lanzarote) by Tony O’Malley (€28,000); Talk (Egglers) – egglers were men who dealt in eggs – by Jack Butler Yeats (€28,000); Sunday by Daniel O’Neill (€22,000); Drawing; Still Life by William Scott and Figure in Woodland by George Russell each made €20,000.
The Yellow Man by Hughie O’Donoghue. UPDATE: THIS MADE 57,000 AT HAMMER
Hughie O’Donoghue’s Yellow Man II from 2008 from a series inspired by a Van Gogh self-portrait known only from photographs and thought lost in a fire, comes up at Adams sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin on June 1. It is estimated at €40,000-€60,000. Another 21st century work of note is Barry Flanagan’s Horse on Anvil (€20,000-€30,000). Best known in Ireland for his remarkable sculptural hares exhibited around O’Connell St. at the time of his Dublin retrospective in 2006 Barry Flanagan is celebrated too for sculpted horses, cougars and elephants. There are prominent horse sculptures by him in Cambridge and in Montreal.
The Bridge at Skibbereen (1919) and The Folded Heart (1943) by Jack Butler Yeats are estimated respectively at €400,000-€600,000 and €250,000-€350,000. Gerard Dillon’s Across from Innislacken (€60,000-€80,000) dates to c1951 while Tony O’Malley’s Arrieta-Orzola (Lanzarote) from 1988 is estimated at €25,000-€35,000. Sun Rising; An extensive wooded landscape with fishermen by George Barret (€100,000-€150,000) is described by Adams as a masterpiece of 18th century Irish art. Chiswick Baths by Sir John Lavery is estimated at €80,000-€120,000. The Adams sale, which includes a 1916 copy of The Proclamation (€150,000-€200,000), is on view at St. Stephen’s Green today and every day until next Wednesday at 4 pm and online. There are 118 lots and it gets underway at 6 pm on Wednesday.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 21, 2022)
Horse on Anvil by Barry Flanagan. UPDATE: THIS MADE 30,000 AT HAMMER
William Ashford (1746-1824) – A Two Views of Dublin Bay looking North and South. UPDATE: THESE MADE 340,000 AT HAMMER
A rare pair of 1774/5 views of Dublin by William Ashford, first president of the Royal Hibernian Academy, will highlight the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin on June 1. The Two Views of Dublin Bay looking North and South were commissioned by Thomas Dawson, 1st Baron Dartrey and were sold at Christie’s in London the following year with the firm’s founder James Christie wielding the gavel. They are estimated at €500,000-€700,000. Works by many of our best known artists over a 250 year span are included in this sale with over €2 million in estimates. The Bridge, Skibbereen by Jack B Yeats was exhibited at The Dublin Society of Painters in 1920 and is now estimated at €400,000-€600,000. One of the most recently painted works in the sale is a monumental 2008 oil by Hughie O’Donoghue, The Yellow Man II (€40,000-€60,000). Among the artists represented by significant works in this sale of 118 lots are George Barret, Sir John Lavery, Gerard Dillon, Tony O’Malley, Edward Maguire, Barry Flanagan, Dan O’Neill and William Scott.
An unusual highlight at an art sale is an original copy of the Irish Proclamation with an estimate of €150,000-€200,000.
A gold and diamond Penelope necklace by Cartier. UPDATE:THIS WAS UNSOLD
This gold and diamond Cartier necklace comes up at the James Adam sale of fine jewellery and watches in Dublin on May 17. It is estimated at 15,000-20,000. A total of 262 lots will come under the hammer. There are rings of every shape, hue and price along with an appetising selection of earrings, bracelets, cuffs, necklaces, brooches, cufflinks and watches by renowned makers.
Imperial Safari sofa by Archizoom. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,500 AT HAMMER
Titans of modern British, European and American art like Patrick Caulfield, Bridget Riley, Karl Appel, Milton Avery and Lucien Freud and a selection of sleek designer pieces by Italian, French, Finnish and Danish designers make for a fascinating Mid-Century Modern sale at James Adam in Dublin on May 10. No less than 28 of the 216 lots on offer are from the estate of a deceased Dublin collector with a deep interest in Modern art. A collection like this one offers a variety of once off opportunities with rich pickings for the significant band of Irish collectors with a growing appreciation of this relatively recent period. It provided the catalogue cover lot, Patrick Caulfield’s Coach Lamp from 1994 purchased from the Waddington Galleries in London and now estimated at €40,000-€60,000.
Coach Lamp (1994) by Patrick Caulfield UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Three Squares in Yellow by Patrick Heron, regarded as one of the finest colourists of the 20th century, dates to 1960 and is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. Two Pines by the American artist Milton Avery, who is to be the focus of an exhibition at the Royal Academy this summer, is a mixed media work with an estimate of €20,000-€30,000 and Lucian Freud contributes an etching titled Head of a Man which dates to 1986/87 and comes with an estimate of €15,000-€20,000. There are paintings and drawings by Karl Appel, Jean Dubuffet, Josef Herman and Max Libermann. Among the Mod Brit artists on offer are Ben Nicholson, Graham Sutherland, Sir Terry Frost and Matthew Smith.
A set of six Les Arc chairs with leather seats on tubular black frames by Charlotte Perriand (€4,000-€6,000), an Imperial Safari Sofa by Archizoom (€10,000-€15,000), a large rosewood sideboard by Silvio Cavatorta (€4,000-€6,000) and a set of 12 chairs by Charles and Ray Eames with fibreglass shell seats on an aluminium base (€3,000-€5,000) will be of huge interest to collectors of modern furniture. A walnut sideboard by the Italian Gianfranco Frattini dates to 1960 and is estimated at just €3,000-€5,000, a 1950’s wood, brass and metal bench by Bugatti is estimated at €1,500-€2,000 and a c1950 dining table by Finn Juhl is estimated at €2,000-€2,500. Consoles, wall lights, bar cabinets, mirrors and armchairs from the period are included.Art from other private collections includes works by Stephen McKenna, John Boyd, Colin Martin, William McKeown, Mick Mulcahy, Francis Tansey, Eithne Jordan, Deborah Brown and Graham Gingles. Collectible graphic works by Francis Bacon, Sean Scully, Mark Geary and William Scott range in estimate from €500 to €5000. The catalogue is online now.
