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  • Posts Tagged ‘Victor Mee’

    ALL KINDS OF EVERYTHING AT VICTOR MEE SUMMER AUCTION

    Saturday, July 20th, 2024

    Exceptional wrought iron conservatory in the Victorian style. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    The three day auction by Victor Mee next week is the sort of sale where bidders at all price points can let the imagination run riot.  An exceptional wrought iron Victorian style conservatory (€20,000-€30,000) might be just the thing for a buyer with big bucks.  On the other hand a pair of brass electrified wall lights from the Orient Express at just  €100-€200 should be within reach of most buyers. 

    The decorative interiors and garden sale live online on July 23, 24 and 25 at 5.30 pm on each day offers more than 1,300 lots and even includes a collection of rare gold coins and bullion.

    A large Italian carved and patinated wood console table in the Neoclassical style UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD. The Maison Jansen table lamp made 1,500 at hammer

    There is a selection of Italian pieces including two quality carved and patinated wood consoles in the Neoclassical style (€2,000-€4,000 each), a carved demi-lune console table with verde antico marble top (€2,000-€4,000), a selection of framed pressed flowers dated 1913 in patinated wooden frames (€500-€800), a brass cushion mirror (€300-€600), two circular Italian designer gilt wall mirrors (€300-€600) and a pair of Italian patinated pine table lamps (€150-€250).

    Pair of Orient Express electrified wall lights. UPDATE: THESE MADE 400 AT HAMMER

    The sale offers lots of scope to set the imagination free outdoors too, especially useful in a summer like this when the efforts of so many gardeners have been frustrated by the weather.  Statues, fountains, carved lions, bronze animals, terracotta urns in rococo style, wrought iron gazebos with ivy leaf decoration, fire pits, sundials and birdbaths won’t suffer from stormy weather like tender plants do. They add interest in all seasons.  The selection of outdoor stuff in this sale is extensive and ranges in style from ancient to contemporary.

    Anyone for a 19th century Carrara marble carved outdoor bath or a large carved limestone wall fountain?  How about an attractive bronze sculpture of flying ducks in bullrushes or a bronze sculpture of a figure in the style of Henry Moore.  Unusual and distinctive lots like these can be found here, and much more besides.

    An Irish Georgian mahogany and brass door lock. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    An Irish Georgian door lock is always of interest to collectors. A statuary marble fireplace with jasper inlay, a pair of granite gate posts, an Irish Georgian brass grate and a 19th century wrought iron field gate will create much interest among particular categories of bidder.

    There is furniture to appeal to a variety of tastes, from a spiral brass bound peat bucket and military campaign chests to a French painted pine pantry cupboard, an Italian walnut credenza in Art Deco style, a 19th century Swedish painted pine two door cabinet, a folding butlers tray coffee table, an Irish oak settle bench, a Japanese lacquered work table, an Art Nouveau painted pine arch, a Venetian glass and  giltwood chest of drawers, a Killarney wood bible box and a bleached oak kitchen table on turned legs with a single stretcher.

    This is a sale where you can easily find something different to add interest either inside or outside.  The catalogue is online.  Enjoy the hunt.

    A TOUCAN OR TWO AT VICTOR MEE AUCTION

    Sunday, June 16th, 2024

    Guinness for Strength ad by John Gilroy featuring a sculpted man after Henry Moore. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER

    If you frequented Irish pubs in the rare old times the gleaming advertising mirrors that surrounded you then are valuable collectible items now. In terms of cost at auction they trump objects including original artworks by John Gilroy from a valuable Guinness collection which highlights three days of sales by Victor Mee on June 18, 19 and 20.

    The English artist John Gilroy (1898-1985) who worked with S.H. Benson – Britain’s largest advertising agency – created the iconic toucan and what is now instantly recognisable art for Guinness featuring the zoo keeper and animals enjoying the black stuff.  Such is the global reach of this art that you could safely say that Gilroy was here, there and everywhere as well! His colleagues at Bensons included author Dorothy L Sayers, grand daughter of an emigrant from Tipperary, then a copywriter.  

    A framed Guinness toucan with a paintbrush pencil sketch by John Gilroy. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER

    The collection of David Hughes, a brewer at Park Royal in London for 16 years, features among almost 1,500 lots at Victor Mee’s sale. He is the author of several books about Guinness including Gilroy was Good for Guinness and The Lost Art of Guinness. “After a long time in the business it’s a treat to come across a private collection of the calibre and esteem that David’s collection brags” auctioneer Victor Mee remarked. 

    The collection is still growing so Hughes has reluctantly decided to part with some of it. Framed sketches illustrated and signed by Gilroy including a Guinness for Strength ad featuring a sculpted stone man after Henry Moore, a Guinness Toucan with a paintbrush and pencil sketch, a koala on a branch with a Guinness bottle, a sketch of zoo animals running and a 1953 advertising artwork depicting the Guinness sea lion and an ostrich feature.  Estimates for all these sketches range between €200 and €1,200.

    A ruberoid Guinness penguin is estimated at just €40-€60 and other items from the collection include an ashtray with penguin, a 1920’s round cream plastic calendar, a pottery water jug and a grey stone bulldog.

    Rare early 20th century Cork Distilleries advertising mirror. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,800 AT HAMMER

    An early 20th century Paddy Pure Pot Still Ten Years Old Irish Whiskey mirror made by the Dublin glass plate company (€5,000-€8,000), a Schweppes table cordial and cider mirror (€4,000-€8,000) and an early 20th century Hignetts reliable cigarettes dispensing cabinet on reverse painted glass (€4,000-€8,000) are the most expensively estimated lots. These are much sought after by publicans, hoteliers and collectors of memorabilia. 

    A number of other mirrors, a Shell advertising pump and an advertising clock with central mirrored panel are among the top lots. The most expensively estimated Hughes lot is a Guinness Time wall metal advertising sign depicting Gilroy figures of a seal, an ostrich and a man (€2,000-€4,000).  Lot 1252 is a rare advertising showcard for Slattery’s Bacon and Hams, Tralee (€400-€600).  The catalogue is online and the sales begin each day at 5.30 pm.

    A Slattery’s Bacon and Hams Tralee advertising showcard. UPDATE: THIS MADE 750 AT HAMMER

    A GUINNESS COLLECTION AMONG THREE DAYS OF SALES AT VICTOR MEE

    Wednesday, June 12th, 2024

    Guinness Time wall metal advertising sign depicting Gilroy figures of the seal, ostrich and man. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600 AT HAMMER

    This wall metal Guinness Time image from the David Hughes Collection is lot 1143 at three days of sales by Victor Mee on June 18, 19 and 20. Original artworks from his collection are among the highlights of this pub memorabilia and collectibles sale. He was a brewer at Park Royal and is the author of several books about Guinness. The catalogue is online.

    ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES AT SALES BY FONSIE MEALY AND VICTOR MEE

    Saturday, May 25th, 2024

    An oversized bronze of a crab at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER

    The possibilities seem limitless at two day sales by both Fonsie Mealy in Castlecomer and Victor Mee in Belturbet on May 28 and 29. A 16th century tapestry once in the Rathcormac collection of American actor Hurd Hatfield and the advertising mirrors from the old Clancy’s Bar in Cork city centre give some idea of the breadth and scope of Fonsie Mealy’s two day summer fine art auction with 1,200 lots. 

    You could opt instead for a seven foot tall bronze sculpture of a crab (€8,000 – €12,000) or a wrought iron Victorian style conservatory with remotely controlled windows (€15,000-€25,000) at Victor Mee’s annual summer garden sale.

    Fonsie Mealy will offer art by Montague Dawson, Gerard Dillon, Harry Kernoff, Augustus Burke, Dan O’Neill, Sean Keating and others, quality affordable and decorative furniture, Irish Provincial and Dublin silverware, clocks and jewellery.  Lot 723 in this sale is the Ladbrokes Epsom Gold Cup from 1963 (€3,000-€5,000).  The Choice of Hercules, the Flemish tapestry from the Hatfield collection is estimated at  €10,000-€15,000.  The actor was best known for playing the lead in the Oscar winning 1945 film of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

    Among the feature lots at Victor Mee are the Victorian bandstand from the famed St. Louis Convent in Co. Monaghan, a 19th century Carrara marble bath, a cast iron statue of a pig, a pair of majestic moulded sandstone lions, a sandstone fountain, a statue of boxing hares, a tree trunk bench and an Art Nouveau style stone figure of a lady along with an array of planters and gates, piers, pillar caps, steps and exterior lighting.  Full catalogues for both sales are online.

    A mirror advertising Paddy from Clancy’s Bar in Cork at Fonsie Mealy. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER

    WHISKEY MEMORABILIA AND LITERARY LINK AT VICTOR MEE

    Saturday, February 3rd, 2024
     A rare Sir John Power and Sons Dublin Whiskey mirror  UPDATE: THIS MADE 12,000 AT HAMMER

    The market for collectibles is strong so there are high expectations around an etched framed Sir John Power and Son Dublin Whiskey advertising mirror at Victor Mee’s sale in Belturbet, Co. Cavan and online. This is a rarity in a sale on February 6 and 7 which will include the pub memorabilia collection of Cannons of Castlebar.  The  gilded lettering is by William Cleland of Belfast and there is an original paper label attached.  Such is the demand  for lots of this calibre that the estimate is a cool €8,000-€12,000.  The mirror is lot 100 in an auction with over 1200 lots due to get underway each day at 5.30 pm.

    An Allman’s of Bandon reverse painted glass advertising sign. UPDATE: THIS MADE 500 AT HAMMER

    Not everything is as expensive as this.  But there should be local interest down south in lot 164, an Allman’s of Bandon Fine Old Irish Whisky reverse painted glass advertising sign with an estimate of just €200-€300.  Allman’s produced whisky, Powers adds an “e” to make it whiskey, which is more generally the spelling used in Ireland.  Either way it is good stuff. Lot 625 is a framed political print of the capture of Thomas Kent in Fermoy and it is estimated at just €50-€80.  He was the only person outside of Dublin apart from Roger Casement to be executed for his role in the Easter Rising and the railway station in Cork, formerly Glanmire Road Station, was renamed Kent Station in his honour in 1966 on the 50th anniversary of the Rising.

    A framed politial print of the capture of Thomas Kent in Fermoy  UPDATE: THIS MADE 60 AT HAMMER

    A sale of memorabilia like this underlines the fast pace of change in the world we live in.  Take pub ashtrays.  Once ubiquitous they seemed to be doled out by sales reps for breweries and distilleries and cigarette manufacturers like snuff at a wake.  They  could be found on every bar counter and table until the smoking ban came into effect in Ireland 20 years ago.  Now they turn up at auctions like this and if you are so inclined you can pick one up for €20 to €40. Lot 295 is a 1930’s sign for Hoey’s Court, Dublin the birthplace of Jonathan Swift, which has since been demolished. The estimate is €150-€250.  The catalogue is online.

    A 1930’s sign for Hoey’s Court, birthplace of Jonathan Swift, which has since been demolished. UPDATE: THIS MADE 340 AT HAMMER

    A WIDE RANGE OF CHOICE AT VICTOR MEE’S SALE TODAY

    Saturday, December 30th, 2023
    An 18 branch Waterford Crystal chandelier. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Need your auction fix?  Can’t wait for everything to get back to normal.  Wait no more.  An appetising sale gets underway this very afternoon when more than 700 lots will come under the hammer at Victor Mee’s Winter Decorative Interiors auction. Determined to end the year on a high note Victor Mee has put together an eclectic assortment of interior and exterior furniture and decor.  With everything from a Ralph Lauren bar cabinet customised for a super yacht (€4,000-€8,000) to an Art Deco marble clock with spelter birds (€10-€20) there is lots and lots to choose across all price ranges.

    Among the top lots are an eighteen branch Waterford Crystal chandelier (€3,000-€6,000), a Percy French watercolour of a Connemara cottage (€4,000-€6,000), a set of 12 Victorian dining chairs with metal studded upholstered seats (€1,500-€3,000), an Irish mahogany spiral brass bound peat bucket (€1,600-€2,000) and The Clock Tower, Irvinestown by Cecil Maguire (€2,000-€3,000). T’is the season for a brass club fender with an upholstered seat.  There are two at this sale, each  estimated at €1,200-€1,800. There is a selection of lighting and garden furniture including a bronze sculpture of a stag,  a collection of wrought iron railings, 19th century cast urns, moulded stone fountains, sandstone avenue lamps, Art Deco cast iron planters, hand forged Arras chairs and a wrought iron gazebo.

    An Irish brass bound peat bucket. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600 AT HAMMER

    CONTENTS FROM SALVAGE YARD IN BELGIUM ON SALE IN IRELAND

    Saturday, November 18th, 2023
    An oak carved pulpit UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,100 AT HAMMER

    A 19th century neo Gothic pulpit is among the more unusual items at Victor Mee’s three day sale next week.  On offer are contents from the Medusa antique and salvage yard in Belgium, a hub for collectors since 1984.  There are arch fanlights, carved wooden statues, African granary doors, gothic windows, fireplaces, chandeliers, door surrounds, outdoor lamps, gates and railings, gargoyles, bronze sculptures, garden furniture and all sorts of everything among the 1,500 lots. The pulpit, by Charles Buisine-Rigot, comes up as lot 355 and is estimated at €1,800-€2,800.  Among a variety of unusual items is a driftwood bar counter, Great Dane statues, an oak and brass ticket booth, a 20th century haberdashery cupboard,  iron deck cannons, a distillery pump and an early 19th century apartment post box cabinet with tendoors. The sale, in association with Derrys of Armagh, will be on view at Derrys at Annaghmore, Co. Armagh on November 19.  The catalogue is online.

    One of a pair of Great Dane statues. UPDATE: THESE MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER

    FEAST OF INTERIORS AUCTIONS FOR IRISH COLLECTORS NEXT WEEK

    Saturday, September 2nd, 2023
     A pair of Regency gilt bronze Armorial lustres at Sheppards. UPDATE: THESE MADE 460 AT HAMMER

    Offering everything from a carved Black Forest standing bear and fine antique furniture to a restored Steinway boutique grand piano there will be a feast of interiors auctions for Irish collectors next week.  No less than nine days of sales will be packed into just four days up and down the country on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Catalogues for all auctions are online and all are now on view.  Aidan Foley’s online hotel interiors sale can be viewed at Prussia St. in Dublin and includes a life size Black Forest Bear (€1,200-€1,600). This two day sale takes place on September 4 and 5. Adams At Home sale featured on these pages last week is in Dublin on Monday. Victor Mee’s three day Decorative Interiors sale on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is headed by a Steinway grand (€20,000-€30,000) and is on view at Cloverhill in Co. Cavan. Meantime a selection of fine antique furniture from Sheppards two day interiors sale on  Tuesday and Wednesday is on view in Durrow, Co. Laois.

    A restored Steinway boutique grand piano at Victor Mee UPDATE: THIS MADE 18,000 AT HAMMER

    With 1,287 lots Aidan Foley’s sale kicks off with a selection of mirrors, lighting, bedside lockers, tables and chairs.  There are some decorative metal wall hangings and plenty of framed pictures and prints.  There is a selection of banqueting tables and chairs, restaurant tables, sets of open armchairs, sofas, desks, tableware, kitchen equipment, advertising signs, a bronze bust of Michael Collins (€1,600-€2,000) and more than enough to open an hotel and decorate it too. The fully restored rosewood Steinway boutique grand piano at Victor Mee’s three day decorative interiors sale in Belturbet, Co. Cavan which gets underway on Tuesday evening is estimated at €20,000-€30,000.  Lot 382 is the most expensively estimated piece in the auction. Other top lots include a 19th century ebonised inverted breakfront credenza and an early 20th century French moulded stone gazebo with a wrought iron top, each estimated at €8,000-€12,000.  With everything from wrought iron entrance gates to a Georgian longcase clock and a set of 1950’s Louis Vuitton luggage the sale offers a huge variety of furniture and collectibles including a 19th century French burr walnut music box and a vintage metal childs pedal car.

    An Arts and Crafts inlaid secretaire at James Adam. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Fine antique furniture is a feature at Sheppards sale of over 700 lots on Tuesday and Wednesday. From 18th century parcel gilt console tables and a set of ten Regency dining chairs to an 18th century Danish silver tea urn and a monumental carved wood American eagle and a 19th century satinwood period pier cabinet there is much to tempt collectors.  Rarities include a cast iron Great Southern Western Railway plaque (€120-€180), a 17th century leather wine pouch (€350-€600), a collection of nine oval Indian miniatures painted on ivory (€1,800-€3,000) and a pair of Regency gilt bronze armorial lustres (€500-€700). The timed online At Home sale at James Adam offers more than 400 lot with examples of Art Nouveau, the Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Deco, 19th century French furniture, a Victorian framed settee, an ebonised credenza and a selection of silver along with carpets, runners, kilims and prayer rugs.  This auction ends from 11 am on Monday.

    PUB MEMORABILIA AND COLLECTIBLES AT VICTOR MEE

    Sunday, July 30th, 2023
    A rare Persse’s of Galway mirror. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A rare Persse’s Galway Whisky mirror from the Nun’s Island Distillery as supplied to the House of Commons comes up as lot 282 at Victor Mee’s sale of pub memorabilia, advertising and collectibles on August 1.    With an estimate of €8,000-€16,000 this is the top lot of the auction. The mirror is in its original oak frame. A Good Luck Jack metal Guinness keg from the O’Conor Don pub with a framed photo of Jack Charlton with the same keg is estimated at €600-€1,200,  a mahogany bell box in working order has an estimate of  €500-€1,000 and an oversized Player’s Please tobacco advertising card is estimated at €800-€1,000.  Collectibles include a 1950’s telephone exchange with headset, a chrome and glass Art Deco counter cabinet, a bronze three legged pot and an alloy sign asking people to Please Drive Slowly Through Blarney.  The catalogue is online.

    A Good Luck Jack Guinness keg. UPDATE: THIS MADE 650 AT HAMMER

    ONE OFF ITEMS AT UPCOMING IRISH AUCTIONS

    Saturday, July 15th, 2023
    A bronze Art Deco water feature at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER

    A bird bath held by a crouching Art Deco lady or a Victrola redolent of another bygone era?  The choice is yours as endless summer materialises in different ways at upcoming sales by Aidan Foley at Kilcolgan, Co. Galway on July 16 and 17 and by Victor Mee in Belturbet, Co. Cavan on July 18 and 19. One off items of a type you would not happen across every day feature alongside plenty of lots that will draw bargain hunters. A Georgian bow fronted sideboard with an estimate of just €300-€500 comes up at Kilcolgan and an attractive composition wall sundial decorated with a lion mask at Victor Mee  is estimated at just €60-€120. 

    A Victrola gramophone at Aidan Foley’s sale. UPDATE: THIS MADE 70 AT HAMMER

    With everything from a pair of brass Gothic style candlesticks, two heavy metal swan jardinieres, a vintage Tiffany style ceiling light and a pair of carved African figures at estimates ranging from €30 to €450 the sale at Kilcolgan caters to a wide variety of interests. Aidan Foley promises a good selection of art headed by a small pencil sketch by Jack B. Yeats of Galway Races with an estimate of around €2,000. There is art by painters from Graham Knuttel to Markey Robinson, Marie Carroll, Sean O’Sullivan and Ivan Sutton.

    A 19th century cast iron fountain at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,800 AT HAMMER

    Victor Mee’s summer garden sale of 648 lots boasts a selection of unique and statement garden pieces.  The most expensively estimated lots are bronzes of horses, foals, stags, seated lions along with an early 20th century French moulded stone gazebo with a wrought iron top and corinthian columns.  These are all in the €6,000 and €8,000 up range but the choice is wide.There is, for example, a Lutyens three seater teak  garden bench with an estimate of €500-€800, a bronze model of a baby snail (€300-€500), copper wall lanterns (€250-€450), an Art Deco limestone planter (€300-€600) and a cast aluminium bird bath (€80-€160). There are tables, chairs, planters, benches, wrought iron gates, acorn topped finials, urns, iron railings, moulded sandstone avenue lamps with copper lights and a cut Italian wall fountain with a lion mask among a big selection on offer.  Both sales are now on view and the catalogues are online.