A large Fabergé jewelled obsidian model of a rhinoceros, St Petersburg, circa 1900 (£50,000-£70,000)
One of the last important groups of Fabergé animals in private hands will be sold by Castle Howard at Sotheby’s in May. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the restoration of the long lost tapestry drawing room at the castle. The collection of some 30 rare and beautiful carvings is similar to those owned by the British Royal Family and members of the Russian Imperial Court. With the latter disassembled by Revolution and the former still held in the Royal Collection, the sale marks an opportunity for collectors to acquire pieces that fully demonstrate why Fabergé earned a prime position in royal and noble collections throughout Europe.
The pieces range from a tiny vole carved of smoky quartz to a commanding obsidian rhinoceros, a captivating bloodstone anteater to a charming series of woodland animals. Alongside the menagerie, the collection also includes Fabergé and European desk accessories.
Part of the proceeds from the auction will contribute to the restoration of the Tapestry Drawing Room, gutted by a devastating fire in 1940. It has remained a shell ever since. As part of a major renovation of Castle Howard’s historic interiors, from April 2025, visitors will be able to see the fully restored and decorated space, with the tapestries that originally hung in the room returned to their original positions.
The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $11,250,000
The Joachin-Ma Stradivarius, one of the world’s finest violins, will come up at Sotheby’s in New York next February with an estimate of $12 million – $18 million (€11.34 million – €17 million). Crafted in 1714 by Antonio Stradivari during his renowned “Golden Period” it is being offered by the New England Conservatory with all proceeds dedicated to student scholarships. Before it was gifted to NEC it belonged to the late Si-Hon Ma, a violinist and pedagogue who graduated from NEC in the 1950s. It was given to the school with the provision that it could one day be sold to provide student scholarships. Before Ma, the violin was owned by Joseph Joachim whose collaborations with composers like Johannes Brahms shaped the course of classical music. It is likely that this violin premiered the Brahms Violin Concerto in 1879 asJoachim was one of the most influential violinists of the 19th century. What sets theJoachim-Ma Stradivarius apart according to Sotheby’s is its exceptional sound—rich, complex, and full of depth. The tone is both sweet and rounded.
FRIDAY FARE BY NANO REID SOLD FOR £57,600 AT SOTHEBYS MODERN BRITISH AND IRISH SALE IN LONDON IN NOVEMBER
Sotheby’s is to close its Irish office at the end of February as part of an international cost cutting exercise. The company plans to continue to serve its Irish clients in ways that are as yet unannounced. The Irish office opened first in 1978 and Arabella Bishop has been Irish Director for the past 25 years.
Trade restrictions that followed Britain’s departure from the EU created extra expense and red tape for the London auctioneers when it came to sourcing works here for sale in London. Sotheby’s is suffering internationally from a decline in auction sales, about 70 staff in London have recently been let go, offices in Moscow and Bangkok have been closed and presence in other cities has been reduced. Layoffs globally account for about six per cent of the workforce. Sotheby’s has faced increasing competition from online platforms and niche marketplaces that cater to a new generation of collectors. This cost-cutting follows the taking of a minority stake in the company, owned by French Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi, by an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, in a deal valued at $1bn.
Peter Curling – Around the Turn. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $31,200
This oil on canvas by the Irish artist Peter Curling is a feature lot at Sotheby’s Arcade sale in New York with an estimate of $15,000-$20,000. The Tipperary based Waterford born artist is particularly noted for his action paintings of horses, of which this work is a fine example, and he has shown in Saratoga and Kentucky. The Arcade sale, with 96 lots in total, runs from December 10-19.
Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A. – Portrait of William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790–1858). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This arresting portrait of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, is lot 22 at Sotheby’s Old Master and 19th century paintings evening auction in London on December 4. The estimate is £300,000-500,000. Inheriting the title at just 21 he was one of the greatest patrons of the arts of any age in British history. In the first year of his accession alone he commissioned Samuel Ware to draw up plans for the refurbishment of his two central London properties, Devonshire House and Burlington House, both in Mayfair; despatched William Atkinson to Ireland to carry out alterations to Lismore Castle, the family’s medieval stronghold atop a cliff on the banks of the Blackwater in County Waterford; and constructed the largest conservatory yet built in England on newly acquired land at Chiswick House, the celebrated Palladian villa which had been built by his great-grandfather, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington. He transformed Chatsworth from a country house into a palace beyond parallel in England and it is largely due to his energies that Chatsworth is today one of the richest private collections of Western Art anywhere in the world.
Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian, comprised of a banana fastened to a wall with duct tape, sold to cryptocurrency entrepeneur Justin Sun for $6.2 million at the Now and Contemporary auction at Sotheby’s in New York last night. It comes with instructions of how to replace the banana if it rots. The New York Times reported that the actual banana was bought earlier yesterday for 35 cents and Justin Sun, who outbid six other rivals, plans to eat it as part of the artistic experience. Comedian was first unveiled in 2019 and became a viral sensation. Justin Sun runs the Tron blockchain network, which facilitates some cryptocurrency transactions.
This unique Lilium low table by Joseph Walsh sold for $78,000 at Sotheby’s in New York today. It was from the collection of Sydell Miller whose enthusiasm for the work of the Irish sculptor started when she first encountered one of his works at an art fair. The commission of two site-specific low tables ensued, including the present lot, with Walsh designing the pieces with the proportions of her sitting rooms in mind. As functionality was primordial to the patron, Walsh included to the design unique moulded glass insets punctuating the top, ensuring that objects could be placed on its surface. In fact, Miller provided the artist with a curated list of objects that she wished to place on the tables.
The ebonized bentwood, characteristic of Joseph Walsh’s practice, beautifully complements the crystal inclusions, which turned out to be the most technically challenging part of the production process. A relatively new technique for the artist at the time, Walsh collaborated with Waterford crystal manufacturer and the Corning Museum of Glass in the production and moulding of each unique glass element, shaped like delicate teardrops.
The day auction of the Sydell Miller collection brought in $11,605,680
Claude Monet – Nymphéas (Water Lilies) (executed c1914-17)
A monumental Water Lilies by Monet sold for $65.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York this evening. The most expensive artwork sold so far at auction in 2024 was from the collection of Sydell Miller. Known to many as the “queen of the beauty industry” Sydell Miller’s extraordinary collection has taken centre stage at Sotheby’s marquee sales week in New York and feature the major artistic movements of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
In both its composition and size the present Nymphéas marks a radical shift in Monet’s approach to a subject which, both at the time and in posterity, has come to be regarded as one of the most celebrated motifs in his canonical oeuvre. Measuring a remarkable 68 by 51 inches the work is a towering example of the monumental canvases which would come to populate his late output. Larger canvases like that of the present work allowed the artist to explore the Nymphéas theme with a freedom of expression that was otherwise restricted by his earlier, smaller scale. The resulting close chromatic range and all-over composition, which heralded a shift from the painterly conventions of its time, prophetically anticipates the origins of the large-scale gestural canvases of the later New York School.
The evening auction of 25 lots and including works by Lalanne, Yves Klein, Picasso, Kandinsky, Henry Moore and Franz Klein, realised a total of $215,953,500
Alexander Calder – Weeds. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $3.6 MILLION
Mauvaisesherbes or Weeds by Alexander Calder comes up at Sotheby’s Modern evening auction in New York on November 18 with an estimate of $3 million – $5 million. Composed of 15 elements arranged along a central axis in a tapered cascade it is an example of his career-long, transformative exploration of sculptural abstracted forms. The artwork is invigorated through its tensions—between the geometric and the organic, the structural and the fluid and between spatial and volumetric weight. It is precisely this dynamism for which Calder’s mobiles garnered their widespread acclaim and which has made his sculptures some of the most recognisable of the twentieth century. Executed in 1963 Weeds comes to market from the collection of Erica Jong, American poet and novelist whose trailblazing work within her own field complements the innovation Calder charted in sculpture. The auction features artworks that capture the spirit of artists working around the globe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who dared to challenge established norms of artistic practice to create a new and wholly modern vision of art.
George I coffee pot with side handle by Thomas Walker, Dublin (1726)
The National Antique Fair at Limerick Racecourse next weekend, magnificent jewels in Geneva and Irish art in London are among upcoming events which will draw large numbers of collectors to the fascinating world of art, antiques and collectibles at all price points this month.
Among the many treasures for which the hunt is hotting up are an antique Irish silver coffee pot, a Georgian officers gorget or throat covering from the Royal Meath Militia, vintage fashion and Irish art and collectibles at the Limerick fair, a Cartier diamond necklace at Christie’s in Geneva on November 12, jewellery from the Royal Court of Bulgaria at Sotheby’s in Geneva on November 13, masterpieces by William Orpen and John Lavery at Sotheby’s Modern British and Irish art evening sale in London on November 14 and a selection of Irish art from Paul Henry, George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson and Nano Reid to contemporary works by Jack Coulter, Richard Hearns, John Behan, Orla de Bri and more at Sotheby’s day sale in London on November 15.
Eily Henry vintage fashion will feature this headwear at the National Antiques Fair in Limerick
Opening times for the National Antiques, Art and Vintage fair at Limerick Racecourse are from 11 am to 6 on November 16 and 17. There will be 80 dealers from right around Ireland with everything from a pair of vases by Zak Scherzer of Vienna with paintings by Rembrandt at Edwin Mercer, vintage flagons, clocks and collectibles at Dan Hartnett and an exceptional George I coffee pot by Thomas Walker (Dublin 1726) which Weldon’s will display on November 17.
Vintage fashion and jewellery is enduringly popular. Among the choices available are an eyecatching Philip Treacy type hat at Eily Henry and a nine carat yellow gold wide gate bracelet at Bedlam antiques. There is porcelain and glass at Brian Hurley, Irish art at the Purple Onion gallery, militaria including the gorget of Lt. Col. Thomas Pepper of the Royal Meath Militia and selections of antique furniture, jewellery, books and collectibles to inspire and delight.
Art Deco diamond necklace, signed Cartier London, 1935, at Christie’s UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR US$5,090,571
It is rare to encounter a group of jewels from the 1920’s and ’30’s which have remained in the same family and have not been remodelled. A magnificent Cartier Art Deco Indo-Persian diamond necklace from 1935 will highlight a collection of superb jewels from the Sassoon family at Christie’s in Geneva next Tuesday The bank where they were stored was completely in World War II. A helpful policeman advised the owner at the ruins to check with a local police station. It transpired that her deposit box had been transferred there. Never at auction before the necklace is estimated at US$1 million – $1.5 million (€920,000-€1,380,000). At Sotheby’s in Geneva on the following day more than 100 pieces from Tsar Ferdinand and the Royal Court of Bulgaria will come under the hammer.
Sotheby’s will bring a great selection of Irish art to the international stage at sales in London next Thursday and Friday. A portrait of Mrs. St. George by Orpen and a Venetian scene by Lavery will feature in the evening sale on Thursday. A Cork collection of maritime paintings by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson and art and sculpture by Gareth Reid – Sky Portrait Artist of the Decade, 2023 – Tony O’Malley, Rowan Gillespie, Patrick Hennessy, Felim Egan, John Kingerlee and William Conor and others feature at the day sale next Friday.
Still Life with Butterfly by Patrick Hennessy at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
