ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM VAN DER HAGEN (FL. 1720-1745) King William III off the coast of Ireland, June 1690, with an English Royal Yacht and the Lord High Admiral’s First-rate Flying the Royal Standard
THIS oil painting attributed to William Van der Hagen sold for a hammer price of 32,000 at the James Adam Country House Collections auction today. Dating to around 1730 it had been estimated at 20,000-30,000. What was expected to be the top lot of the sale, an Irish architectural carved giltwood mirror attributed to John and Francis Booker, failed to find a buyer. The Ploughman by Francis Wheatley made 36,000, a portrait of Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller made 32,000, a pair of Venetian oil on canvas views by JMW Turner and an Irish mahogany side table each made 26,000, a portrait of Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland by Thomas Frye made 18,000; a French carved wood model of the Madonna and Child, probably 16th century, made 16,000; a set of four c1750 George II Irish silver cast candlesticks mark of George Hill made 14,500; a silver model of the Battle of the Boyne obelisk made 12,000; an Irish yewwood library table by Arthur Jones and Co. of Dublin and a family scene in the style of Johan Zoffany each made 11,000; a late 19th century George II style side table by Hicks and a bronze banded short barrel cannon each made 10,000; a suite of 14 George II London silver serving dishes made 9,500; a pair of Neo Classical half circular side tables made 9,000 and a pair of Irish bird and flower pictures by Samuel Dixon made 7,000.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for October 17, October 12 and October 8 2022)
THOMAS FRYE (c.1710-1762) – Portrait of Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland, of Brympton D’Evercy in Somerset (1701-1771) UPDATE: THIS MADE 18,000 AT HAMMER
This portrait by the Offaly born artist Thomas Frye comes up as lot 371 on day two of the James Adam Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall on October 18. This magnificent neo-Classical house is the perfect backdrop for an array of some of the finest antiques and artefacts to come on the market in Ireland so far this year. Drawn from many fine Irish country houses and collections, the sale includes 18th and 19th Century furniture with many important Irish pieces, fine period paintings, period portraits and sporting scenes, Irish glass, fine Continental porcelain and a selection of table silver from Birr Castle.
The artist Thomas Frye was from Edenderry and during his lifetime was considered one of the most inventive of Irish Georgian artists. Internationally he won many important commissions including the full length state portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The sitter in the portrait here was 8th Earl of Westmorland, and it was for his grandson, the 10th Earl and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland that Westmorland Street in Dublin was named. The portrait is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
Day one of the sale is a timed online only auction and the sale on October 18 will be held at St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin. Viewing gets underway at Townley Hall on October 15.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for October 8, 2022)
Irish architectural giltwood mirror attributed to John and Francis Booker. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Some fine examples of the kind of antique Irish furniture that remains much sought after and achieves high prices will come up at the James Adam Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall, Drogheda on October 17 and 18. Leading the auction is an Irish architectural carved giltwood mirror attributed to John and Francis Booker. This one, made c1760, has an arched plate with scrolled cresting and a triangular pediment supported on corbels embellished with leaves. There is an attractive border of interlocking chains within an egg and dart frame. A Booker mirror is indeed a trophy piece and the estimate here is €30,000-€40,000.
A c1750 Irish mahogany side table with a white marble top, central carved scallop shell on cabriole legs with faceted, collared feet is estimated at €25,000-€30,000. Other prime Irish lots among a large furniture selection are a fine c1740 Irish mahogany secretaire chest on chest (€15,000-€20,000), a late 19th century George II style side table by Hicks of Dublin (€10,000-€15,000) and an Irish yew wood library table by Arthur Jones and Co., Dublin (€10,000-€15,000). Made for the 1851 Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in London this table is a real conversation piece. Adams say (and I disagree) that it is one of only four known survivors of an 18 piece suite, the others being a teapoy (sold at Adams in 2014), a wine cooler bequeathed to the National Trust of Australia by Samuel Henry Ervin, now in Sydney and a card table in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Irish yew wood side table by Arthur Jones and Co. Dublin. UPDATE: THIS MADE 11,000 AT HAMMER
The reason for doubt is a carved bog yew armchair carved to illustrate the history, antiquities, animals and vegetation of Ireland that I spotted at the Masterpiece Fair in London in early July. This too was made by Arthur Jones and Co. for the Great Exhibition. Perhaps it was a one off and not part of the suite and Adams is indeed correct, but it is enough to make me wonder. Butchoff Antiques had worked hard on this fabulous throne chair since acquiring it at an auction in Ayr in December 2020. They paid £44,000 at hammer, over a top estimate of £3,000, had it re-polished and painstakingly re-covered. At Masterpiece it was labelled a highlight by the vetting committee and priced at £150,000.
Social historians will find interest in a half length portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) of Lady Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles. It would have been unusual for a woman in the upper echelons of 17th century society to breastfeed her own children. A wet nurse would have normally been employed. Wife of Lt. Col. Henry Boyle of Castlemartyr and daughter of the Ist Earl of Inchiquin Lady Mary is featured with her third son Charles. At a time of high infant mortality he survived into adulthood and pursued a career in the Navy. The portrait is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. Viewing at Townley Hall gets underway next Saturday (October 15) and continues on Sunday week and Monday week. Day one of the auction on October 17 is a timed online only sale with lots 1-281. The live auction at St. Stephen’s Green on October 18 features lots 300-822. The catalogue is online now.
Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) – Portrait of Lady Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles. UPDATE: THIS MADE 34,000 AT HAMMER
This 19th century French boulle desk comes up as lot 728 on day two of Adams Country House Collections sale on October 18 and 19. The auction is open for viewing at Townley Hall near Drogheda today, tomorrow and on Sunday. The online is at St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin. This is a showcase of some of the finest pieces of Irish Georgian furniture and important Irish Old Master paintings consigned from many fine old country houses, many of the lots never having been on the auction market before. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,800 AT HAMMER
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for October 9 and October 5, 2021)
Irish George II secretaire inlaid with filigree marque. UPDATE: THIS MADE 18,000 AT HAMMER
Serious collectors of fine Irish Georgian furniture will find much of interest at Adams annual Country House Collections on October 18 and 19. Viewing for this annual auction, which this year offers a particularly good selection of 18th century Irish furniture alongside fine examples of classical Irish art and silver, gets underway at Townley Hall near Drogheda next Friday. Among various highly covetable rarities is a c1730/40 George II Irish secretaire cabinet with a scrolled broken pediment inlaid with filigree marquetry and Comedia dell’Arte figures. Adams estimate it at €20,000-€30,000. There is a similar example in Irish Furniture by The Knight of Glin and James Peill. Another mid Georgian Irish secretaire bookcase with a more traditional straight front design, at one stage in the home of Lord Monteagle at Mount Trenchard House near Foynes, is estimated at €30,000-€40,000.An Irish George II mahogany side table in the manner of Richard Cranfield, was in the collection of Lord Leverhulme of Sunlight Soap fame before being sold in New York in 1926. It has an unusual design of corner truss legs and Greek key frieze and is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. A stunning Irish mahogany side table with an apron carved with scrolls and acanthus leaves and a centre scallop shell is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. So is a compartmental George III pier mirror notable for the blue and clear glass bead decoration so associated with Irish mirrors.There is a wonderful dining table measuring over five metres long on three centre quadropod supports. It is estimated at €30,000-€40,000. A set of 18 Regency dining chairs come with an estimate of €20,000-€30,000. Collectible pieces of Irish furniture such as a Killarney work centre table (€2,000-€3,000) are on offer at less stratospheric prices and not everything in the sale is Irish.A remarkable nine piece suite of Anglo-Indian gilt wood furniture, latterly at Prehen House in Derry, was included in the Castletown House, Co. Kildare inventory of 1893 as “Bombay” furniture. It is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. An example of fine English cabinet making is a George III knee hole desk after a design by Thomas Chippendale.Among the silverware is a pair of Dublin 1765 tureens by R. Holmes and a rare Irish George I bullet shaped teapot made in Cork in 1725 by William Clarke. There is a selection of gold boxes from the private collection of an Italian noblewoman. The sale contains two marble busts by the Irish sculptor Christopher Moore, one of the 3rd Duke of Leinster, one of William, 1st Baron Plunkett, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Both date to 1843.Garret Morphy (c1650-1716) is regarded as the first Irish born artist of stature. His 1696 portrait of Anne Boyle, 2nd Lady Mountjoy in a landscape holding a dove accompanied by Cupid, is estimated at €30,000-€40,000. There are two landscapes by James B. McCoy (c1750-1780), whose work is rare, and a double portrait by James Latham (1696-1747) considered the leading portrait painter in Dublin in the first half of the 18th century. A comparable example of this portrait of An Architect and his Son can be found in a family group at Fota.Adams advise that this spectacular sale ought to viewed in person and it can be seen in the elegant and neo-classical surroundings of Townley Hall for three days from next Friday. The live and online auction takes place at Adams St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, saleroom on October 18 and 19.
Garret Morphy (c1650-1716) – Portrait of Anne Boyle, 2nd Lady Mountjoy. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The wonderful surroundings of Townley Hall near Drogheda will be the viewing venue for Adams annual Country House Collections sale on October 18 and 19. Viewing will take place at the Francis Johnston designed neo-classical masterpiece on October 15, 16 and 17. The live and online auction with around 700 lots will take place at the St. Stephen’s Green saleroom on October 18 and 19. The sale will showcase fine Irish Georgian furniture and Irish Old Master artworks.
A PAIR OF 19TH CENTURY GEORGE III STYLE GILTWOOD CONSOLE TABLES, in the manner of William Kent. UPDATE: THESE MADE 18,000 AT HAMMER
Not least of the remarkable selection of lots at the Country House Collections sale of 730 lots by James Adam at Townley Hall near Drogheda on October 16 is a Republican silver two handled cup made by Egans of Cork at the height of the Civil War in 1922.
Republican silver is prized by collectors. Only about 80 objects were made by the renowned Cork silversmiths in the period to September 1922 when war conditions made it impossible to send silver to the Assay Office in Dublin. The Dublin writer and surgeon Oliver St. John Gogarty suggested a special hallmark to distinguish this particular period. So Egan’s made a punch based on the Arms of Cork showing a ship between two castles with two masts instead of three. The punch was destroyed when normal conditions resumed. The loving cup is estimated 10,000-15,000.
The highlight of the auction is the Armada table made from wood salvaged more than 400 years ago. As many as 27 Spanish ships were lost off the Irish coast in 1588. The catalogue cover is a 1760’s uniformed portrait of Capt. Edward O’Brien of Dromoland Castle by Robert Hunter (1715-1780). The estimate is 30,000-40,000. Two other lots of note from Dromoland are a set of Giant Irish Deer antlers and skull (30,000-50,000) and an iron bound 15th/16th century muniments chest (used for storing documents) at 8,000-12,000. A collection of nearly 50 lots of old Irish glass formed by Mrs. Noel Guinness of the banking family in the early part of the last century is highlighted by a late 18th century Waterford or Cork fruit bowl (1,500-2,500). There are decanters, preserve jars, serving dishes, milk jugs with estimates from 100 upwards.
An exceptional irish George II mahogany drop leaf table is estimated at 30,000-50,000, as is a pair of Irish George I walnut console tables. Among many other furniture lots of note are an Irish George II side table, a Louis Seize style ormolu and marquetry commode, a pair of Georgian style giltwood pier tables and mirrors in the manner of William Kent and a George IV pedestal sideboard.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for September 15 and October 11, 2018)
Republican silver loving cup UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
18th century Waterford or Cork fruit bowl. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,400 AT HAMMER
The annual James Adam Country House Collection sale at Townley Hall near Drogheda features 730 highly collectible lots with items from Dromoland headed by the Armada Table estimated at 100,000-200,000. There is antique Irish furniture, art, silver, glass and a variety of collectibles, The catalogue is online and viewing gets underway on October 13. Here is a small selection:
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 15, 2018)
THE DROMOLAND CASTLE MEGALOCEROS GIGANTEUS. Giant Irish Deer antlers and skull, c. 12,000 – 8,000 BC (30,000-50,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 47,000 AT HAMMER
A 19TH CENTURY CARVED GILTWOOD PIER MIRROR (4,000-6,000) UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A FINE GOTHIC REVIVAL MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE (8,000-12,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 12,000 AT HAMMER
AN IRISH GEORGE III MAHOGANY BRASS BOUND TURF BUCKET (3,000-5,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
A 19TH CENTURY GOTHIC REVIVAL STONE WELL-HEAD (5,000-7,000) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 10,000
THIS PAIR OF MASSIVE MID 19TH CENTURY ORMOLU MOUNTED SEVRES PORCELAIN VASES MADE 33,000
The James Adam Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall near Drogheda this week grossed over two million. The timed internet auction worked very well and grossed just over 50,000.
There were bidders from the US, Hong Kong, Germany, Holland, the UK and Ireland north and south.
Hammer prices for the top lots were as follows: George Barrets Mountainous Wooded River Landscape (200,000); a giltwood pier mirror by John and Francis Booker (50,000); a c1750 Irish armorial side table (40,000): Wooded landscape with figure by Solomon Delane (38,000); a pair of massive mid 19th century porcelain vases (33,000); a Ming revival blue and white moon flask, Yongzheng (32,000); an Irish Regency four pillar dining table (28,000); Games Still Life by Raoul Hynckes (26,000): George III giltwood overmantle mirror (25,000) and Portrait of a Lady by Sir Francis Grant (22,000).
(See posts on antiqueandartireland.com for October 8 and October 5, 2017)
A particularly fine landscape by George Barret, a mirror by John and Francis Booker, an Irish armorial side table, a Killarney davenport and a Brussels tapestry are among the top lots at the annual James Adam Country House Collections sale in Co. Louth on October 10.
The highest estimated lot of A Mountainous Wooded River Landscape and Waterfall and Three Figures by George Barret (c1728-1784) is estimated at 200,000. Adams say it was most likely painted in Ireland before Barret’s move to London in 1763. An Irish Georgian giltwood pier mirror by the Booker Brothers still has its makers label attached and is estimated at 50,000. An Irish armorial side table dates to about 1850 and has an estimate of 20,000, as has a large Killarney davenport.
A Wooded Landscape by Solomon Delane (1727-1812) is possibly of Tuscany and estimated at 40,000. There is a portrait of Frederick the Great of Prussia (3,000) and the 17th/18th Brussels tapesty of the Baptism of Clovis, often referred to as the first Christian King of France, is large and estimated at 10,000. A pair of compact George II giltwood mirrors attributed to Benjamin Goodison is estimated at 6,000. The same model of mirror was illustrated in Buckingham Palace in a 1927 edition of Country Life.
There is a Victorian sideboard from the Cornish house where Daphne du Maurier lived for decades and inspired her novel Rebecca. It is estimated at 10,000. There is a similar estimate on a Great Irish Deer set of antlers. The auction is at Townley Hall near Drogheda. A section of nearly 200 lots at the end of the catalogue is being offered online and by written bids only. These include the Moyne collection of miniatures, antiquarian prints and books. They will come up at a timed internet auction which will run to 6 p.m. on October 11.
George Barret (c.1728-1784) A Mountainous Wooded River Landscape with Waterfall and Three Figures UPDATE: THS MADE 200,000 AT HAMMER
A giltwood pier mirror by John and Francis Booker UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 50,000 AT HAMMER
A Killarney marquetry davenport UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A Victorian sideboard from the Cornish house Daphne du Maurier lived in which inspired her novel Rebecca. UPDATE: THIS MADE 11,000 AT HAMMER
