This table was once the property of Queen Marie Antoinette. UPDATE:THIS WAS UNSOLD
There is considerable provenance to lot 652 at Fonsie Mealy’s autumn Chatsworth auction in Castlecomer on September 27-28. According to the auctioneer the 18th century French Louis XVI oval walnut and tulipwood table pictured here was once the property of Marie Antoinette. Purchased in Paris by Lord Charles Beresford it was given as a gift to Mrs. Maude of Belgard Castle, Clondalkin, Dublin on the birth of her son Marcus “Markie” Maude in 1896. He died in Mesopotamia aged 24 and the table went by descent to Mount Juliet from Colonel Silcock. It was purchased by the present vendor at Mount Juliet. The table was made by Jean-Pierre Dusautoy (1719-1800) and is stamped. There is a three quarter pierced brass gallery and oval top with a tooled leather inset inside a crossbanded edge. It is estimated at 4,000-6,000. The two day sale of over 1,000 lots is brimful of interest and the catalogue is online.
One of a pair of George II architectural pier mirrors by John Booker UPDATE: THE PAIR SOLD FOR 106,000 AT HAMMER
From Booker mirrors to an original portrait of Jonathan Swift to a clock garniture gift from Marie-Antoinette and a pair of commodes attributed to James Hicks the Howth Castle sale by Fonsie Mealy next week promises to be a humdinger. This auction of 800 years of history for the Gaisford-St. Lawrence family and other important clients offers an appetising variety of antique furniture, art, ceramics, glass and all sorts of historic collectibles like a painted wooden model of HMS Victory, an 18th century Irish School relief of the legend of Grainne Uaile, a mourning dress worn by Queen Victoria and the Great Sword of Howth which has been in the St. Lawrence family for many generations. According to tradition, the sword was used by Sir Armoricus Tristram, who arrived at Howth with Sir John de Courcy in the year 1177 and commanded the Norman army which defeated the local inhabitants. A more sober assessment dates the sword to the late 15th century. It is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. The live and online auction will take place at the Grand Hotel, Malahide on September 8 and 9 with admission subject to prevailing Covid conditions. The most expensively estimated lot, at €300,000-€400,000, is a unique full length portrait of Jonathan Swift painted in 1735 by Francis Bindon (1690-1765). There is an estimate of €50,000-€70,000 on Bull by Moonlight by Roderic O’Conor and A Birds Eye View of Howth Castle attributed to William Van Der Hagen or Joseph Tudor is estimated at €40,000-€60,000.. There are several Bruxelles and Flemish tapestries and an impressive set of prehistoric Giant Irish Elk antlers and skull.
This Louis XVI French mantle clock by Regnault of Paris together with two candlesticks was a gift from Marie Antoinette to her lady in waiting Marie Therese de Barmont. UPDATE: THIS MADE 28,000 AT HAMMER.
Among a number of lots certain to attract international interest is a pair of Irish George II carved giltwood and gesso architectural mirrors attributed to John Booker. These are estimated at €50,000-€70,000. A c1738 pair of Irish giltwood and gesso carved side tables believed to have been supplied to the 14th Lord Howth come with an estimate of €30,000-€50,000.A pair of satinwood and bow fronted commodes attributed to James Hicks are estimated at €7,000-€9,000 and a mid 18th century Irish side table is estimated at €8,000-€12,000. A magnificent Georgian mahogany dining table (€30,000-€40,000), a mid 18th century Irish mahogany decanter stand (€20,000-€30,000) and a Gothic Revival side table or alter attributed to Pugin (€4,000-€6,000) are among other remarkable furniture lots.A Louis XVI French ormolu mantel clock by Regnault of Paris with two matching candlesticks was a gift from Marie Antoinette to her lady in waiting Marie Therese de Barmont. Marie Antoinette was 14 at the time of her wedding in 1770, Marie Therese de Barmont was 13. The set is estimated at €4,000-€6,000.
A mid 18th century Irish mahogany decanter stand. UPDATE: THIS MADE 48,000 AT HAMMER
There is silver and plate, militaria, ceramics, porcelain, glassware and some estimates are as low as €80. With more than 970 lots on the catalogue and this truly a sale with something for everyone. Lot 787 is a George IV silver gilt model of the Warwick Vase by Phillip Rundell, London 1820 (€8,000-€12,000), there are early Netherlandish School portraits of the Bishop of Meath George Montgomery and his wife Susan Steyning (€10,000-€15,000) and an early 19th century Cantonese bowl and cover is ex the collection of the O’Briens at Dromoland Castle with an estimate of just €180-€220.The clearance sale of Howth Castle will continue with the sale of the library on September 22 and 23. The castle has been home to the St. Lawrence family since the Norman Invasion. Since 1919 it has been held by the distraff heirs, the Gaisford-St. Lawrences. In 2018 the family agreed to sell the castle, demesne and Ireland’s Eye to the Tetrarch investment group who intend to develop a hotel and a luxury resort. A seven acre portion has been sold to Glenveagh Homes who plan to build 200 apartments.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for August 12, 23 and 31)
Auctions at Sotheby’s worldwide totalled $5.3 billion in 2018. This is a 12% increase over 2017. Online buyers spent more than $200 million this year and 25% of all lots sold in 2018 were sold online. The top lot of the year at any auction house was Modigliani’s Nu Couche which sold for $157.2 million in New York in May. This was the highest auction price in Sotheby’s history.
Queen Marie Antoinette’s pearl sold for $36.2 million in Geneva in November.
Amedeo Modigliani Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) Signed Modigliani (lower left)
The magic of Queen Marie-Antoinette held say at Sotheby’s in Geneva when a pearl and diamond pendant that belonged to ill-fated French Queen was been sold for $36 million over an estimate of around $2 million. This is a world record for a pearl. The pendant was part of a collection of jewellery sold by Italy’s Bourbon-Parma house.
Other lots included a natural pearl and diamond necklace, a pair of pearl and diamond earrings, and a monogram ring with a lock of her hair. The queen smuggled her jewellery to her family in Austria before an ill fated attempt to flee the French Revolution. She was guillotined aged 37 in 1793.
The previous record for the most expensive pearl was a necklace once owned by Elizabeth Taylor which was sold for $11.8 million at Christie’s in 2011.
Another Spitfire flew into the record books in London on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. It sold for a world record price of £3,106,500 to contribute to an extraordinary week at Christie’s. The Exceptional Sale and sales of Old Master and British Paintings, the collection of a Swiss Gentleman, Taste of the Royal Court with French furniture and works of art from a private collection and Old Master and British Drawings and Watercolours have achieved £48,451,788 so far. A total of 14 works sold for over £1 million.
Among the highlights are the unique last of its kind Mark 1 Spitfire; a 19th century Luba female figure for a bowstand, which made £6,130,500, the second highest price at auction for an African work of art and the world record price at auction for a Luba figure; the most important oil by Richard Parkes Bonington to come to the market in a generation which made £2,490,500, a world record price for the artist at auction; and the only surviving armchair from the most expensive suite made for the French queen Marie Antoinette which made £1,762,500, a new world record price at auction for an 18th century chair. The Old Master & British Paintings Day Sale takes place today.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 28, 2015)
This fauteuil en bergere supplied to Marie Antoinette for the Pavilion Belvedere sold for £1,762,500.
The Spitfire in Flight – copyright 2011 John Dibbs.
MARIE ANTOINETTE’S EXQUISITE ARMCHAIR FROM THE PAVILLON BELVEDERE (£300,000-500,000). COURTESY CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD., 2015
Marie Antoinette’s exquisite armchair from the Pavillon Belvedere is among the highlights at Christie’s sale of important French furniture in London on July 9. The Taste of the Royal Court sale of furniture from a private collection comprises 22 examples of 18th century decorative arts. The furniture in the sale was created for some of the most celebrated patrons of the 18th century: Queen Marie Antoinette, Duke Albert de Saxe-Teschen, Jean Baptiste de Machault d’Arnouville, Chancelier de France and the Prince de Conti, and subsequently entered such legendary collections as those of the Dukes of Hamilton, the Marquesses of Bath at Longleat and the Comtes de Vogüé at Vaux-le-Vicomte.
The sale features work by master craftsmen like André-Charles Boulle, Charles Cressent and Adam Weisweiler. A giltwood fauteuil en bergère supplied to Queen Marie Antoinette for her salon in the Pavillon Belvédère at the Petit Trianon, was part of the most expensive suite of seat furniture ever made for the Queen. The only armchair from the set known to have survived is estimated at £300,000-500,000. A bureau plat by Cressent, of which the only other known example is in the Louvre, is estimated at £1-1.5 million. Estimates range from £30,000 to £1.5 million and the collection is expected to make more than £6 million.
A MASTERPIECE BY CHARLES CRESSENT THIS BUREAU PLAT IS ESTIMATED AT £1-1.5 MILLION) CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2015
A VASE MADE FOR LOUIS XV’S FINANCE MINISTER (£600,000-1 MILLION) COURTESY CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD., 2015
THE PRINCE DE CONTI’S PLANETARY CLOCK (£600,000-1 MILLION) COURTESY CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD., 2015
