A love token and the nationalism of Lady Wilde, Oscar’s mother, proved to be important associations at Whyte’s sale of history and literature in Dublin on May 9. The harp gifted to Maud Gonne by W.B. Yeats sold for a hammer price of 37,000. Yeats would give recitals of his poems accompanied by Maud Gonne on the harp. The sale grossed 220,000 and 80% of lots on offer sold.
A Parnellite marching banner with a distinctive literary connection made a hammer price of 8,000. The hand painted banner is embroidered with a line from a poem by Speranza, the pen name of Lady Wilde. It reads: “Never Country Gained Her Freedom When She Sued On Bended Knee”. The hand painted and gilt embroidered banner is from the Carrickedmond, Co. Longford branch of the Irish National League. The league was founded by Parnell in 1882 to replace the Irish National Land League, which had been suppressed.
Online sales accounted for one third of the lots sold. Bidders from Ireland competed with bidders in the UK, USA, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, China, Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 11, 2015).