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
Artworks, furniture, porcelain, silver and collectors effects all feature at the annual James Adam Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall on October 10 at 11 a.m. Lot 479, for example, is a pair of enormous mid 19th century Sevres vases estimated at around 7,000. Viewing gets underway on October 7. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:
An Irish Victorian Carlton House desk (10,000-15,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,500 AT HAMMER
Irish George II card table (4,000-6,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER
A Brussels style wall hanging, The Baptism of Clovis (10,000-15,000) UPDATE:THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER
A skull and antlers of a great Irish deer (10,000-15,000) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 9,500 AT HAMMER
A Georgian door lock (1,500-2,500) UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600 AT HAMMER
A three meter long mid-Georgian Chippendale serving table is among a number of highly collectible lots at Adams Country House Collections auction at Townley Hall, Drogheda on October 11. More than 600 lots will showcase Irish country house interior decoration. Irish Georgian furniture and some early portraits attributed to Robert Hunter, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Anthony Van Dyke will create international interest. There is furniture and art, garden furniture, silver, porcelain, books, glass, carpets, prints and antique maps. Among other lots of fine furniture are a pair of inlaid and painted satinwood pier tables (30,000-50,000), a mahogany breakfront bookcase (10,000-15,000), an Irish yew secretaire (5,000-8,000), a large brass bound turf bucket (15,000-20,000), several pairs of Irish Georgian games tables and large Williams and Gibton dining tables.
A portrait by Robert Hunter of Robert King (1724-1755), MP for Boyle who became Baron Kingsborough at the age of 23, is estimated at 20,000-30,000. A portrait from the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds of John Byron, grandfather of the poet, is estimated at 35,000-45,000 and one of Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory attributed to van Dyke is estimated at 10,000-15,000. A view by William Sadler of Dublin Bay from the South is estimated at 8,000-10,000 and a painting of the Meath Hunt by Thomas Walker Bretland is estimated at 30,000-40,000. A c1767I Dublin silver freedom box by Bartholomew Stokes presented to Theophilus Jones is estimated at 10,000-15,000. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:
A portrait of Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory attributed to Sir Anthony van Dyke (10,000-15,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 68,000 AT HAMMER
An exceptionally long George III Chippendale serving table (15,000-20,000) UPDATE:THIS MADE 15,000 AT HAMMER
A portrait of Capt. John Byron, grandfather to the poet, from the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds (35,000-45,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 32,000 AT HAMMER
Two Cork Glass Company decanters with moulded target stoppers with another decanter (2,000-3,000) UPDATE: THIS LOT MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER
The 18th century French sporting gun. UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER
An 18th flintlock sporting gun is one of the more unusual lots at the Country House Collections auction by James Adam at Townley Hall, Drogheda, Co. Louth on October 11. It was made by a gunmaker who managed to keep his head in revolutionary France. Nicholas-Noel Boutet was a director of the Versailles Rifle Manufactory. He was son of the Royal Gunsmith and had the title Gunmaker in Ordinary to the King. But during the Revolution he worked for Napoleon at the State of Arms company.
The gun, which is estimated at 8,000-12,000 is single stage barrel. The sighting ridge is engraved with a sunburst with crown and numbered No.38. There is a carved walnut stock extending fully to the muzzle, with ebon ramrod. The silver mounts are hallmarked and engraved with foliage. There is a leather cheek piece at the butt. The catalogue for the sale, which is online, lists 647 lots.
