This pair of terracotta rhubarb forcers made €1,800 at hammer
Terracotta rhubarb forcers were a surprise hit at Sheppards sale of contents from Kilroan House, Glanmire, Cork and other clients. Traditional Victorian cloches, which work by trapping heat and blocking light forcing the plant to grow faster and sweeter, had all the allure of hot cross buns on Good Friday at the auction. Two pairs sold for a hammer price of €1,800 each and another pair made €1,600 over estimates of €200-€300.
Elsewhere in the sale a 1915 Royal Worcester covered vase with an estimate of €250-€350 made a hammer price of €4,600. Hand painted with swans in flight it was numbered and designed by one of the most gifted Worcester artists Charles Henry Clifford Baldwyn whose swans became signature pieces. A marine chronometer made €3,000, a life size bronze sculpture of four deer made €10,200, a Regency breakfront bookcase made €7,000 and a William IV four poster bed made €8,500. A view of Blackrock Castle and the River Lee by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson made €2,700 at hammer.
ROYAL WORCESTER COVERED VASE, 1915 – SWANS IN FLIGHT
This Royal Worcester vase made a hammer price of €4,600 over an estimate of €250-€350 at Sheppards ongoing sale of contents from Kilroan House, Glanmire, Cork and other clients. It is richly decorated with raised gilt rococo scrolls and hand-painted swans in flight against a sky-blue and olive-green ground. The pierced neck and handles are decorated with gilt and blush highlights and the domed cover is surmounted by a gilt finial. The underside is printed with the Worcester crown mark, registration number 168915.
Charles Henry Clifford Baldwyn, one of the most gifted artists at Royal Worcester in the late 19th and early 20th century, specialised in bird painting. His paintings of swans in flight on vases became signature pieces. The designs were so distinctive and synonymous with his name that no other decorator was allowed to paint them during his employment at the Royal Worcester factory. Baldwyn was also allowed to sign his designs at a time when few factory artists were permitted to do so. Royal Worcester went to the trouble of registering this and other designs by Baldwyn to discourage copying by other rival factories because the style was so desirable and important for their sales. Later versions of the Baldwyn swans registered pattern could be printed in outline and then coloured in by other factory painters.
John Bellany – Masquerade at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
At this time of year with its focus on the newest interior fashions and the latest colour trends what is overlooked is that beloved paintings changed around at home almost always end up being looked at anew. Try it. If your favourite painting has been hanging in the same place for so long that it is practically part of the furniture it is almost certainly no longer appreciated as it deserves to be. Real art is about looking, not background decoration.
Nothing promotes a refresh so much as an addition to the collection which necessitates a re-hang. Which is where auctions in Ireland next week come into play.
Peter Curling – Neck and Neck at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
How about a fast paced horse racing painting from Peter Curling? A luminous oil of evening light from the final years of artist Joseph Malachy Kavanagh in Brittany, or perhaps something more abstract, modern, post modern, contemporary or now? There is ample opportunity for collectors to spring into action at art sales by Morgan O’Driscoll on the evening of February 23 and Sheppards in Durrow on the following day. Both catalogues are online and will richly reward a long, slow perusal.
Morgan O’Driscoll kicks off with Birds of a Feather, a pastel on paper by Graham Knuttel who proved his popularity at Adam’s highly successful Graham Knuttel Part II sale in Dublin last week where his work sold like hot cakes.
Damien Hirst – Circle Spin at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE €3,400 AT HAMMER
Variety is a hallmark at O’Driscoll’s sale with everything from a highly colourful abstract landscape by Colin Middleton and a 1969 litho by Louis le Brocquy entitled Death of Fraech from the Tain series to an appetising still life by William Crozier, Equinox 2016 by Felim Egan and a famine ship by John Behan. On the international side the sale offers work by Damien Hirst, Mr Brainwash and Andy Warhol.
Willam Scott, Basil Blackshaw, John Butler Yeats, Countess Markievicz, Liam O’Neill, Frank McKelvey, Pauline Bewick and Rowan Gillespie are all included in the online catalogue of 246 lots.
The 310 lot auction at Sheppards is anchored by the collection of Gerry Cuddy in Co. Antrim and a curated group of works from the studios of Barrie Cooke and Sonja Landweer. The auction offers what Peter Murray describes as one of the “finest landscape paintings” by Grace Henry. It is of Achill Island, painted between 1912 and 1919 and estimated at €12,000-€15,000. This makes it the second highest estimate of the auction, after John Bellany’s Masquerade with an estimate of €25,000-€35,000. Bellany was one of the most influential Scottish artists of the post World War 2 era and David Bowie was among those who collected his work.
George Mullins – Animated River Landscape, Homestead and Castle Beyond at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,500 AT HAMMER
Animated Landscape by George Mullins (€10,000-€15,000) at Sheppards is one of the very few fully authenticated paintings by the artist that is known. Shaped Form, a bronze by Sonja Landweer, is estimated at €5,000-€8,000 and there is a strong representation by Northern Irish artists like William Conor, Dan O’Neill, James Humbert Craig, Markey Robinson and Maurice Wilks.
The auction offers a breadth of materials across many price ranges with art by Letitia Marion Hamilton, Rose Barton, Albert Hartland, Arthur Maderson, Eoin MacLochlainn, John Shinnors, Kenneth Webb, Ian Pollock, Rory Breslin, Fr. Jack Hanlon, Mildred Anne Butler and many others.
SONJA LANDWEER (1933 – 2018) – BLISTERED OVOID (c2010). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This monochrome earthenware piece by Sonja Landweer is at Sheppards sale of Important Irish Art on the evening of February 24. Viewing for the 310 lots sale gets underway in Durrow today and the catalogue is online. The auction includes a curated selection of works from the studio of the late Barrie Cooke and Sonja Landweer. It is centred on the Co. Antrim collection of Gerry Cuddy featuring key figures in modern Irish painting. Bistered Ovoid is estimated at €3,000-€5,000.
River Run Poppies by Kenneth Webb at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS MADE 15,000 AT HAMMER
Old favourites and new names combine to make an interesting selection at art sales by Sheppards in Durrow, de Veres in Dublin and the newly formed Lot 100 which is based in Lismore in the coming week.
An arresting view of River Run Poppies by Kenneth Webb is the catalogue cover lot for Sheppard’s evening sale of Irish and international art on December 11. Choices here range from Donald Teskey’s take on Kilkee, a dramatic abstract composition by the Norwegian artist Thorvald Hellesen, an image of Samuel Beckett by Louis le Brocquy and houses by Mary Lou, a self taught painter from the Glens of Antrim.
Abstract Composition by Thorvald Hellesen at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS MADE 26,000 AT HAMMER
Her contribution is an oil on board of a village in the west of Ireland in a bold, graphic style against a mountainous backdrop. A vibrant studio still life by Gladys MacCabe reflects a modernist style while a pen and ink drawing by Sir William Orpen was once in the collection of Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones. A Walled off Hotel box set by Banksy, a lithograph of Queen Beatrix from the Reigning Queen series by Andy Warhol, a screenprint of birdflight by Braque and a signed etching by Renoir of a seated bather are among the international lots on offer. The sale is on view in Durrow and the catalogue is online.
An Italian tinted mirror and tiered hall table at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The Christmas art and furniture online auction at de Veres on December 10 at 2 pm is headed by The Children of Lir, an oil on board by Patrick Collins. Artists in the sale include Peter Collis, Arthur Armstrong, William Carron, Yvonne Moore, Felim Egan, Mark Francis, Anne King Harman,Markey Robinson, Gerard Dillon and Patrick Scott.
There is a range of 20th century design furniture and period pieces by Hicks including a Georgian style semi-elliptical side table, a set of Dutch 18th century style dining chairs and a pair of compartmental wall mirrors. An Italian tinted and mirrored hall table and a pair of 1970’s black leather Swedish easy chairs cater for a contrasting taste in furniture.
An original and vintage portrait of Fellini’s Amarcord at Lot 100. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A large scale, rare vintage poster for Federico Fellini’s Amarcord is among the highly collectible lots at the online auction by Lot 100 which runs until next Tuesday (December 9). Amarcord is set in his hometown of Rimini in the 1930’s and the extraordinary characters that surrounded him. Fellini commissioned the Italian painter Giuliano Geleng to create a portrait of some of the people and events that shaped his young life in this film classic.
There is art by Eithne Jordan, Joan Miro, Damien Hirst, Richard Long, Patrick Scott and a photographic portrait of Martin McDonagh by Steve Pyke in an eclectic selection that can be seen online and is on view this weekend in Lismore.
PAIR OF CHINESE CLOISONNÉ ENAMELLED CENSERS. UPDATE: THESE MADE €1,900 at hammer
This pair of Chinese cloisonné enamelled censers will be included in Sheppards sale of a private collection of Asian art on November 5. A total of 155 lots will be sold without reserve. Estimated at €8,000-€12,000 the censers are among the highlights of the sale. The catalogue is online and the auction will be on view in Durrow on November 3 and 4.
RORY BRESLIN (B. 1963) – Custom House Keystones. UPDATE: THESE MADE €125,000 at hammer
A complete set of 14 patinated bronze masks of the Custom House keystones of the rivers of Ireland by Rory Breslin made a hammer price of €125,000 at Sheppards Irish and International art sale in Durrow. The Original Set of 14 – Liffey, Erne, Foyle, Slaney, Nore, Suir, Lagan, Lee, Shannon, Bann, Atlantic, Blackwater, Barrow and Boyne – were from the artist’s private collection. They are cast after the original keystones carved by Edward Smyth (1749–1812) for the Custom House, Dublin, c. 1791. This exceptional series reimagines one of the great achievements of Irish neoclassical sculpture: the monumental keystones personifying the Atlantic and the principal rivers of Ireland. Smyth’s original carvings, designed under architect James Gandon, embodied the aspirations of an Irish Parliament-era Dublin. Each head is laden with symbolic attributes — maritime emblems, flora, fauna, and produce — evoking the geography, economy, and folklore of its river basin. Breslin’s Variations project captures these qualities with striking fidelity while revealing the energy, texture, and modelling of the originals through the medium of bronze.
An Abstract Constructivist Composition (Study) c1920’s by Thorvald Hellesen made €33,000 over a top estimate of €9,000.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 15, 2025).
18TH-CENTURY SINO-TIBETAN GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF A MANJUSHRI
This finely cast 18th century Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze made a hammer price of €9,500 over an estimate of €800-€1,200 at Sheppards two day sale of the collection of Philip and Constance Murphy in Durrow today. The figure of a Manjushri, the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom, is seated in the meditation position atop a double-lotus throne with beaded rims. It is richly adorned with beaded jewellery and a five-pointed crown, with detailed facial expression and blue pigment remaining in the hair and crown crevices. A folder of 24 Chinese Qing watercolours made €14,000, a Chinese Qing period Hu shaped vase made €7,650 at hammer, a 19th century oil painting of a volcanic eruption by moonlight made €7,500, a 19th century marine chronometer made €5,400, a Chinese Qing Period blue dragon plate made €5,000, an Arts and Crafts carpet made €4,300, a 19th century automaton bird clock under a glass dome made €4,000 at hammer, a Persian Tabriz carpet made €4,200, an 18th century Dublin bracket clock made €3,600, a trio of Chinese gold commemorative coins made €2,800 and a Chinese lime glazed bowl made €2,800.
19TH-CENTURY KILLARNEY YEW AND ARBUTUS WOOD MARQUETRY TABLE. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This 19th Killarney centre circular centre table inlaid with yew and arbutus wood is among the highlights at Sheppards Great Irish Interiors sale in Durrow on May 27 and 28. The top is centred by circular marquetry medallions and enclosed within elaborate borders of Celtic strapwork, foliate motifs and symbolic patterns. More than 1200 lots will come under the hammer and the catalogue is online. The estimate on this table, which comes up on May 28, is €6,000-€9,000.
FELIM EGAN (1952 – 2020) – CANARY (2007). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This meditative composition by Felim Egan is lot 20 at Sheppards Irish and International art sale on May 14. The restrained geometry and tonal shifts create an atmosphere of stillness—typical of Egan’s singular contribution to Irish abstraction. The surface is finely worked, suggesting multiple veils of pigment applied over time. His minimalist compositions, built up in semi-translucent layers, earned him international recognition. The artist received the Gold Award at Cagnes-sur-Mer and his work is held in collections such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the European Parliament. This acrylic on canvas is estimated at €3,000-€5,000. There are 166 lots in the auction and the catalogue is online.
