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ALICE IN WONDERLAND BUTTONS AT SOTHEBY’S

Monday, July 13th, 2015

ALICE LIDDELL’S SILVER BUTTONS UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR £2,500

Two silver buttons belonging to Alice Pleasance Liddell (1852-1934) who inspired Lewis Carroll to write “Alice in Wonderland” come up at Sotheby’s sale of English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustrations in London on July 14. Estimated at £2,000-3,000, the pair of cherub-shaped art nouveau buttons were “worn from childhood to the date of her death”, according to the inscription on the presentation box accompanying them.

In 1862, an Oxford don, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll’s real name), took the three daughters of the Dean of Christ Church college Oxford, including his young friend Alice, on a picnic. When the girls cried out for Carroll to tell them a story, he complied by beginning a tale about Alice’s adventures down a rabbit hole. And thus, two of the great children’s classics of all time were born: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.

Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Alice Liddell, sotheby's
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METAL DETECTOR FIND – A 15TH CENTURY MARRIAGE RING – AT SOTHEBY’S

Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

The 15th century ring. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £35,000

A 15th century marriage ring unearthed with a metal detector comes up at Sotheby’s sale of Old Master Sculpture and Works on Art in London on July 9. It was discovered in 2013 near Launde Abbey, an Elizabethan manor house once home to Thomas Cromwell’s son and is estimated at £20,000-30,000. The ring is an exceptionally lavish example of its kind, on which the bond between husband and wife is symbolised by two different gems, a point-cut diamond and a rounded ruby. The engraved sprigs on the partially enamelled shoulders of the ring are typical of a goldsmith’s work in fifteenth-century England.

From the 12^th century onwards, the site near Launde Abbey – situated in the valley of the river Chater in East Norton, Leicestershire – was occupied by a large and wealthy Augustinian Priory. Thomas Cromwell was so impressed by the building and the location that he presented it to himself after surveying it as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. His execution in 1540 prevented him from moving in. Instead his son Gregory and his wife Elizabeth Seymour, the sister of Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour, took residence there.

Tags: Metal Detector find, sotheby's
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WORKS FROM CASTLE HOWARD AT SOTHEBY’S NEXT WEEK

Saturday, July 4th, 2015

Paintings from the collections of Castle Howard are installed at Sotheby’s London ahead of their sale on 8 July 2015, including works by Ferdinand Bol, Bernardo Bellotto and a magnificent Portrait of Henry VIII from the Workshop of Hans Holbein

Paintings from the collections of Castle Howard at Sotheby’s including works by Ferdinand Bol, Bernardo Bellotto and the Workshop of Hans Holbein

An image of paintings from the collections of Castle Howard being installed at Sotheby’s in London ahead of their sale on July 8, including a rare Portrait of Henry VIII from the Workshop of Hans Holbein, and a portrait by Ferdinand Bol.

Spanning a range of periods and media, from Roman antiquities to Old Master paintings and 17^th century Italian furniture, nine carefully selected works from the magnificent collections of Castle Howard will be offered.

Works from Castle Howard will feature at the Treasures Sale and the Old Master and British Paintings evening sale on July 8.

Yorkshire’s finest stately home and garden is familiar the world over as the incredible backdrop to the TV drama Brideshead Revisited and Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 29, 2015)

Tags: Castle Howard, Hans Holbein, sotheby's
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ROMAN EMPEROR BUSTS FROM GUINNESS FAMILY COLLECTION

Friday, July 3rd, 2015

A pair of white marble busts of Roman Emperors from the Guinness family come up at Sotheby’s in London on July 9. Estimated at £50,000-70,000 the late 17th/early 18th century busts are classified as Irish or British. By tradition they were in the collection of the Earls of Mayo, Palmerstown House, Co. Kildare and in the collection of Desmond Guinness at Leixlip Castle from around 1960 and thence by family descent. Sotheby’s say the over life size busts are likely to have been carved by a Flemish or Dutch sculptor operating in Britain or Ireland. The pre-eminent sculptors active at that time were Dutch or Flemings drawn to the country in the wake of the Restoration. The figures will come up at the sale of Old Master Sculpture and works of art.

UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD

One from a pair of monumental busts of Roman Emperors.

One from a pair of monumental busts of Roman Emperors

Tags: Guinness Family Collection, sotheby's
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ONE DOLLAR BILL BY ANDY WARHOL SELLS FOR £20.9 MILLION

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

Andy Warhol – One Dollar Bill (Silver Certificate) sold for £20.9 million.

Andy Warhol’s One Dollar Bill made £20.9 million to become the top lot at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art sale in London tonight. Painted in 1962 it was his first dollar painting. The sale brought in £130.4 million, a 40% increase on the same sale a year ago. However the painting billed as the highlight of the sale, a Francis Bacon Pope, did not sell and neither did two Warhol silkscreens. Nonetheless this was the highest ever total for an auction of contemporary art in Europe. Two newly discovered works by Francis Bacon made £30 million and Four Eggs on a Plate, a present from Lucian Freud to the late Dowager Duchess of Devonshire made just short of one million after being chased by seven bidders.

(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 26, June 9 and June 1, 2015).

Francis Bacon – Three Studies for a Self-Portrait (1980) sold for £14.7 million.

Francis Bacon – Self-Portrait 1975 sold for £15.3 million..

Tags: Andy Warhol, francis bacon, sotheby's
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IRISH ART SALES TO RESUME AT SOTHEBY’S

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015

Sir William Orpen – Nude Girl Reading UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

In a nod to the recovering Irish economy Sotheby’s will resume stand alone Irish art sales in London on October 21. Highlighting that sale is Nude Girl Reading by Sir William Orpen, described by Sotheby’s as one of his most sensational nudes. Not on the market for 30 years, it is estimated at £300,000-500,000. The work was painted in 1921 and the subject was Orpen’s lover Yvonne Aubicq, daughter of the mayor of Lille. Their affair continued until 1928.

In 1995 Sotheby’s was the first London auction house to hold sales of Irish art. Arabella Bishop, Head of Sotheby’s Ireland, said: “Over the last couple of years, interest has increased and we have seen new collectors, not only from Ireland but internationally, actively buying and bidding in this field. We anticipate that the market for Irish art will continue to gather pace and feel that the moment is right to re-launch an annual dedicated sale. We are also thrilled to be opening our new 1,350 square-foot office in Dublin. This larger space, with excellent private viewing conditions, further cements our commitment to the Irish market.”

In Dublin Sotheby’s will open new premises at 29 Molesworth Street on June 27, a move from the previous location at 16 Molesworth St. Stand alone sales of Irish art have not been held at Sotheby’s since 2011.

Tags: Sir William Orpen, sotheby's
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PISTOLS GIFTED BY NAPOLEON AT SOTHEBY’S TREASURES SALE

Friday, June 12th, 2015

The pistols gifted by Napoleon I to his son.

A pair of child sized pistols – believed to be parting gifts from Napoleon I to his three year old son titled King of Rome at birth – is one of the more unusual lots at Sotheby’s Treasures sale in London on July 8.

Created by celebrated gunsmith Jean Lepage the pistols are encrusted and inlaid with gold and emblazoned with Napoleonic symbolism, such as the capitalised N and the Imperial eagle, marking them as an important Imperial gift. Dated 1814 they are estimated at £800,000-1.2 million.

Napoleon abdicated in April 1814, was forced into exile on the island of Elba, but returned triumphantly only to be decisively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by the Duke of Wellington on June 18, 1815. He was exiled to the Atlantic island of St Helena, where he died in 1821.

Tags: Napoleon I, sotheby's
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ICONIC DEGAS LITTLE DANCER AT SOTHEBY’S

Wednesday, June 10th, 2015

Degas’ Petite danseuse de quatorze ans UPDATE: IT MADE £15.8 MILLION

Edgar Degas’ Petite danseuse de quatorze ans, comes up at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale in London on June 24. One of only a handful of bronze casts remaining in private hands it is estimated at £10-15 million. Most are housed in major museum collections, including Tate, London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Museé d’Orsay, Paris.

Helena Newman, Sotheby’s Co-Head of Impressionist & Modern Art Worldwide said:“Petite danseuse de quatorze ans is Edgar Degas’ most important and iconic sculpture. The artist’s ambitious and highly innovative work marks the pinnacle of his achievements as a sculptor, and its forthcoming sale represents a rare opportunity to acquire an icon of Impressionist art.”

The art historian Richard Kendall, co-curator of the Royal Academy’s exhibition Degas and the Ballet wrote: “Degas’ Little Dancer Aged Fourteen is among the three or four most celebrated sculptures of the modern age. Along with Rodin’s The Kiss and the same artist’s The Thinker, and perhaps Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty, Degas’s statuette of a slender young ballet dancer has become recognisable to millions and admired throughout the world.”

Tags: Edgar Degas, Little Dancer, sotheby's
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BACON’S STUDY FOR A POPE 1 AT SOTHEBY’S

Tuesday, June 9th, 2015

Francis Bacon – Study for a Pope 1. UPDATE: IT FAILED TO SELL

Francis Bacon’s Study for a Pope I – estimated at £25-35 million – will lead Sotheby’s contemporary art auction in London on July 1. The auction is poised to become London’s highest value sale of contemporary art with a pre-sale estimate of £143.2 million to £204.6 million. The 59 lot sale will include the most important collection of Andy Warhol dollar paintings in private hands.

Bacon was obsessed with the Velazquez Portrait of Pope Innocent X. He created his Study for a Pope I for his breakthrough retrospective exhibition at the Tate Gallery in 1962. It was in the collection of Gunter Sachs for 40 years and was sold at auction for £10 million in 2005, a record price for a work of Bacon at the time.

Here is a video from Sotheby’s about the work:

Tags: francis bacon, sotheby's
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FIRST EDITION OF THE HOBBIT MAKES NEW WORLD RECORD

Thursday, June 4th, 2015

A letter in elvish.

The first edition of The Hobbit.

A first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” from 1937 sold for a new world record price of £137,000 at Sotheby’s in London today. This more than doubled the pre-sale estimate of £50,000-70,000.

Presented as a gift from the author to one of his first students at Leeds University in the 1920s, Miss Katherine (“Kitty”) Kilbride, it is inscribed with a handwritten note from the author in Elvish. The author continued to send letters, cards and books to her throughout his life.

The presentation copy inscribed by the author as follows: “K.M. Kilbride, with greeting from J.R.R. Tolkien” and four lines in Elvish. The Hobbit was first published in London by George Allen and Unwin Ltd. in 1937. The previous world record for a first edition of the story was £50,000 set in 2008.

Tags: J.R.R. Tolkien, sotheby's, The Hobbit
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