This Chinese Tibeto gilt bronze sceptre with an estimate of €3,000-€5,000 sold for a hammer price of €30,000 at the opening session of Sheppards three day auction in Durrow of contents from Grange Manor, Co. Kilkenny and other clients. It contains the six-character reign mark of the Yongle Emperor (1402 – 1424). The makara head is above flowing lotus scrolls over a faceted pierced dorje handle. The Makara is a legendary sea creature in Hindu mythology. The Currach Fishermen by Liam O’Neill made €11,000, the Great Seal of Ireland of Henry VIII made €8,500, a pair of gilt console tables made €5,500, a Mughal hand woven carpet made €5,500, a tree of life carpet made €5,500, a Donegal carpet made €5,500, a pen and ink portrait by Jack B Yeats made €5,000, a gilt, bronze and marble clock garniture made €4,800, a George III inlaid bookcase made €4,000, a portrait of Anna Stewart by Nathanial Hone made €4,000, a large two tier Irish crystal chandelier made €3,800, a pair of 19th century Black Forest bears made €3,000, a 20th century Meissen figure of King Augustus on Horseback made €3,200 and an Irish brass bound peat bucket made €2,800. The sale is ongoing.
19th century Killarney wood breakfast table at Aidan Foley’s sale UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD AND IS UNDER OFFER
With big sales by Aidan Foley in Killarney, Shepperds in Durrow and Lynes and Lynes in Carrigtwohill next week collectors will be spoiled by an array of astonishing and rare choices as the winter selling season reaches it maximum point.
There is much to see and appreciate, from the finest of Irish furniture to a complete apothecary cabinet, a bronze stag, Patek Philippe and Rolex watches and even a Great Seal of Ireland of Henry VIII on vellum dated 1544.
The Killarney furniture including a museum quality davenport at Aidan Foley’s three day sale has aroused international interest. The retirement auction on behalf of Pat O’Connor of Killarney Antiques is now on view at the shop on the Cork road. The in-room and online auction with 1388 lots takes place at the Killarney Heights Hotel next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 2.30 pm on each day.
A Killarney breakfast table, two davenports and a sewing table range in estimate from €3,000 to €50,000. There is a selection of Killarney trinket boxes, games boards, trays and travelling writing boxes on offer as well as antique furniture, a range of artists from Marshall Hutson to Maurice Wilks, Ann Tallentire and Sean O’Connor, mirrors, porcelain and collectibles including a 19th century estate bronze bell and an original Cork Examiner enamel advertising sign.
A pair of Meissen figural candelabras a Sheppards. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
At Sheppards a pair of Irish 19th century marquetry side cabinets once in the Long Room at Kilkenny Castle will highlight a three day sale of contents from Grange Manor in Co. Kilkenny and other clients next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The estimate for this historically important pair of cabinets sold separately at the dispersal auction at the castle in 1935 is €100,000-€150,000.
The seal of Henry VIII grants various properties around Inistioge including fishing rights on the River Nore to Milo Barron Bishop of Ossory and his brother David. The estimate is €7,000-€9,000. More than 1600 lots will come under the hammer. Viewing gets underway today at Grange Manor, the auction is in Durrow and online.
A Patek Philippe man’s watch with an estimate of €50,000-€80,000 will lead the Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill next Saturday (November 30). There are contents from Gurrane House near Fermoy which has been in the Blackley, Grant and Deane families since it was built in 1850. A collection of circus clowns in the auction (€2,500-€3,500) was amassed by a clown at Duffy’s. Circus and is being sold by his nephew. A set of fine Georgian Cork 11-bar chairs (€4,000-€5,000) and a Georgian dining table (€3,000-€4,000) should generate interest.
A going away outfit dating to c1850 at Lynes and Lynes. UPDATE: THIS MADE 460 AT HAMMER
Large old family houses contain hidden treasures. Among the signature pieces from Gurrane is a complete 19th century mahogany apothecary cabinet (€600-€1,000) owned by Dr. Travers Robert Blackley (1801-1876) and an 1850 going away outfit.. This was worn by Mrs Charles Deane (nee Grant), who married Colonel Charles Deane of Gurrane circa 1850. A Spanish School painting of The Virgin and Child distributing the Rosary to Saints and the Royal Family is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. There is a similar estimate on a Plan of the City and Suburbs of Cork drawn in 1832 by Thomas Holt. There will be local interest too in a Robert Stopford engraving of Cork Harbour and a large view of the Cork International Exhibition from 1903. Viewing gets underway in Carrigtwohill today.
The bronze stag is at Aidan Foley’s auction and there is garden furniture on offer at all three sales.
A close up of some of the clown collection at Lynes and Lynes. UPDATE: THE CLOWN COLLECTION MADE 3,100 AT HAMMER
A framed linen handkerchief on Michael Collins at the time of his death at Hegarty’s. UPDATE: THIS LOT WAS WITHDRAWN AND SOLD PRIOR TO THE AUCTION
As the autumn season moves into high gear an impressive selection of highly collectible lots is available to collectors up and down the country next week. The range on offer right now includes everything from a rediscovered painting by Frank O’Meara at Adams, a Rolls Royce Silver Spirit at Sheppards and a linen handkerchief which Michael Collins had in his pocket when he died at Hegarty’s in Bandon.
When the autumn art selling season kicks off at Adams in Dublin on the evening of September 25 there will be much interest in A Knitting Shepherdess painted in 1880 by Frank O’Meara. This small scale transitional work by a short lived though renowned Irish artist, unknown to researchers, has been in an Irish private collection for decades. It is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
Frank O’Meara (1853-1888) – A Knitting Shepherdess at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 24,000 AT HAMMER
The Bog Pool by Paul Henry is at €120,000-€160,000, the most expensively estimated lot in this auction of 150 lots which features work by Jack B Yeats, Paul Henry, Colin Middleton, Louis le Brocquy, Sean Keating, Frank McKelvey, Gerard Dillon and Lilian Davidson. On the contemporary side there is a large work painted in 2008 by Hughie O’Donoghue – No. 37, Stuttgart 7 Hours 20 Minutes 24.7.44 – of a Lancaster bomber during the Second World War setting the night sky ablaze (€30,000-€50,000). Painting and sculpture by Neil Shawcross, Colin Harrison, Edward Delaney, Melanie le Brocquy, John Behan and many others add enormous interest to this sale.
The petrol driven 1984 Rolls Royce at Sheppards Legacy of the Big House auction of more than 1600 lots on September 24, 25 and 26 in Durrow is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. A west Cork collection assembled in Ireland, Europe and America has a strong emphasis on 17th and 18th century furniture. An Irish 17th century leather bound marriage trunk with metal and stud decoration and domed lid, inscribed 1693, is certain to create interest. The estimate is €4,000-€6,000.
An Irish 17th century leather bound marriage trunk at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An Italian 18th century carved gilt console table with marble top is estimated at €3,000-€5,000. There are Regency tables, an Irish oak rent table, a Grand Tour marble specimen table, a 17th century walnut and crossbanded chest, a Cork Regency carved giltwood mirror and a pair of early 19th century Viennese salon chairs among an appetising selection.
Curiosities include a 19th century Cork ebony and ivory octant and a bronze model of a Venetian Lion of St Mark. There is a collection of fountain pens, jewellery from Atelier Jacobi, Stuttgart and art by James Arthur O’Connor, Guido Reni, Norah McGuinness, James Humbert Craig and others. Viewing starts in Durrow today.
A framed white linen handkerchief which Michael Collins had with him on the evening of his death on August 22, 1922 comes up at Hegarty’s sale in Bandon on the evening of September 25. It is accompanied by a manuscript letter in pencil signed by Collins’ brother Sean O Coileain dated August 31 to General Sean MacMahon asking him to: ‘accept enclosed as a souvenir of Michael – in his pocket at time of death’ . The estimate is €10,000-€20,000. The provenance of the handkerchief is General Sean MacMahon and thence by descent.
The online sale features antique furniture, art, silver and jewellery including a Victorian emerald and diamond shamrock bar brooch.
A Cork Regency carved giltwood mirror at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Fenders are having a moment at auction in Ireland. This good quality brass club fender made 2,000 at hammer on the opening night of Victor Mee’s three day decorative interiors and art sale in Belturbet, Co. Cavan last night. Just last week a large Cork regency brass fender made 1,300 at hammer at Sheppards three day sale of contents from St. Austins, Gorey, Co. Wexford. And a brass and leather club fender made 1,500 at last nights sale. The auction by Victor Mee continues this evening and tomorrow.
This 17th century Tibeto-Chinese meteorite iron phurba made a hammer price of €140,000 over a top estimate of €30,000 at Sheppard’s Gentleman’s Library sale in Durrow today. The phurba is a peg or stake deeply rooted in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist traditions and used extensively in various rituals. It is believed to have transformative power. Often made of brass or iron, meteoric iron is particularly prized. The auction continues today and tomorrow.
THIS decorative card table, described as Irish by Sheppards, made a hammer price of €3,600 at the opening session of the three day Legacy of the Big House sale at Sheppards in Durrow today. It had been estimated at €3,000-€5,000. A platinum five stone ring made €18,000; an Irish brass bound peat bucket made €1,900; a Donegal carpet made €4,200 and a Donegal runner made €1,900; a Mappin and Webb plated oil lamp made €1,700; a pair of 19th century wingback armchairs made €2,400, a 1941 painting of Horses in a Parade Ring by the German artist Otto Dill made €3,200; a 19th century French kingwood commode made €2,800 and an Art Nouveau sterling silver punch bowl made €2,600.
A collection of ten artworks by Percy French sold for various prices from €3,400 to €12,000 (2). A French Empire bronze and gilded mantel clock made €6,500 and a Sevres and ormolu mantel clock made €7,000 and a late 17th century lacquered cabinet on stand made €5,500. The sale of around 1,500 lots, with 500 on offer each day, is continuing.
French gilt metal and marquetry cylinder bureau UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
House contents auctions are always brimful of appeal so Sheppards offering from Knocksaintlour House, Cashel, Co. Tipperary and other clients in Durrow on August 15 is bound to be a draw. The top lots are a French Empire style marble specimen table (€5,000-€8,000), a French gilt metal marquetry cylinder bureau, a fine Kirman rug and a large 20th century bronze sculpture of a boy and girl on a bench all estimated at €4,000-€6,000. The selection ranges from a pair of 19th century Marley horses and handlers after Cousteau to a Regency banjo barometer, a designer carved wood log box, a Venetian pier mirror and a pair of ruby glass baskets. There are tables of various types including card tables, chairs, Tiffany style lamps, desks, centrepieces, conservatory armchairs, some silver, a barograph, compact antique furniture pieces and garden furniture including moulded stone lions, a trough and a blacksmith forged steel gate.
The sale of 360 lots is on view at the house in Cashel today and tomorrow (August 12 and 13) and the catalogue is online.
This Chinese lacquered palace folding screen with 12 gilded panels comes up at Sheppards four day sale of contents from Pouldrew House, Co. Waterford and other clients in Durrow from May 9-12. Decorated with exotic birds among blossums Lot 25 is estimated at 3,000-5,000. It is from the collection of the late Dr. Jan Mohamed. Around 2000 lots are to be offered, with 500 coming under the hammer on each day. The catalogue is online. Viewing in Durrow gets underway on May 6 and the catalogue is online. UPDATE: THIS MADE €2,900 AT HAMMER
18th century Irish penal cross – UPDATE: THIS MADE €3,700 AT HAMMER
This 18th century Irish penal cross comes up at Sheppards Irish Vernacular Part II sale on March 28. It is dated 1729 with a well figured corpus among a skull and crossbones. Sheppards will offer 368 lots in a private collection of Irish ceramics, furniture and metalwork. The catalogue is online and there will be viewing in Durrow from March 25-27. The cross is estimated at 2,000-3,000.
This type of auction is developing as more and more collectors opt for rare and unusual collectibles. Auctioneers James Adam will hold their first Irish vernacular sale in Dublin on April 12. This is a new category for Adams.
Brilliant cut yellow diamond of 15.93 carats UPDATE: THIS MADE 260,000 AT HAMMER
THE collection of film director Sir John Boorman – whose many credits include Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur and Hope & Glory – will be included at Sheppards three day sale in Durrow on February 28, March 1 and 2. Sheppards say the diverse group of works on offer exhibit a lifetime emphasis on beauty and a keen eye for quality. Exceptional collectibles range from vernacular pine to period furniture and two and three dimensional works of art. The sale includes an assemblage of exceptional jewellery, diamonds and other stones from private collections including a 15 carat yellow diamond with an estimate of €250,000-€350,000. There are a number of brilliant cut diamonds of over three carats each and a variety of rings. An interesting collection of silver including a rare pair of Limerick serving spoons by Maurice Fitzgerald (€3,000-€5,000), a Cork silver sugar bowl by Daniel McCarthy (€1,500-€2,500) and a large, heavy silver soup ladle by the Cork maker Carden Terry (€2,500-€3,500). This section offers 73 lots in total.
An Irish William IV side table. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,000 AT HAMMER
An important Irish William IV side table heads up more than 300 lots of furniture and is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. A large neo classical marble chimney piece is estimated at €8,000-€12,000 as is a George III breakfront library bookcase. There are plate buckets, centre tables, chests of drawers, butlers trays, chairs, couches, nests of tables, bookcases, desks including an unusual 19th century campaign brass bound desk and mirrors in various woods and lacquers on offer. A 19th century Killarney arbutus wood miniature cabinet depicts Ross Castle and Muckross Abbey on two panel doors which open to a series of drawers. An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak wristwatch is estimated at €30,000-€50,000. It heads up a selection of fine wristwatches at this sale.
A 17th century Dutch School portrait of a gentleman with a red hat UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
