CASTLECOMER.- Mealy’s Auction House is to host their final sale of 2016 in Castlecomer Saleroom on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th December, commencing at 11am each day.
An important final date in the antique calendar, the public auction lots can be viewed via online catalogue here - or in person on Sunday 4th December (Noon to 5pm) and Monday 5th December (10am to 5pm).
The auction promises to showcase a diverse offering which includes a selection of items from the Gore-Booth Family, Lissadell House, Co. Sligo - home of Constance Markievicz.
Bidders will also have access to the collection of the late Mrs Claire Cosgrave, a prominent aesthete from Terenure, Dublin 6 as well as the entire contents of a prestigious residence in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, with many Irish and English paintings featured that have not been seen on the market for decades.
Period furniture and decorative art from the collection of Sir Anthony O'Reilly, previously at Castlemartin in Co. Kildare, on the instructions of the Trustee in Bankruptcy appointed by the Bahamian Court will also be available to purchase, as will various items from the collection of the late Professor Anne Crookshank, emeritus professor of the history of art at Trinity College Dublin, on the instructions of the representatives of her estate; and the Mountainstown House Great Irish Elk Antlers, spanning 10ft in width, found on the estate by members of the Pollack family.
With approximately 1100 lots to be auctioned highlights include:
Lot 780
SEÁN KEATING PPRHA, HRA, HRSA (1889-1977)
Portrait of an Aran Woman and her Children (1946)?, oil on canvas, signed lower right and verso, 49" (125cm) x 58" (148cm). (1) €40,000 - 50,000
Note: According to Professor Eimear O’Connor, this striking painting by Keating is extremely important due to the fact that the sitters in the portrait are his wife, his two sons, and his pet cat. Keating's plan was to exhibit the painting with the RHA, the Oireachtas, or with Victor Waddington but, in spite of his good intentions, he put the canvas to one side and did not get back to complete it until 1946. It is the first time it is being offered on the open market, having been acquired in the 1960s and remaining in a private collection for decades.
Lot 800
PAUL HENRY RHA (1876-1958) A Mountain Landscape, 1938-45, oil on board, signed 'PAUL HENRY' b.r., 12.5" x 15.5 cm. (1) €15,000-25,000
Lot 307
A RARE EARLY 20TH CENTURY ROLEX SILVER AND COBALT BLUE ENAMEL BALL PENDANT WATCH, with guillouche and gilt decoration, the small enamel dial with Arabic numerals, unsigned, the movement signed Rolex.
Provenance: Gore-Booth Family Lissadell, believed to have been the property of Countess Constance Markievicz. As a member of James Connolly’s ICA (Irish Citizen Army), formed in 1913, to defend the demonstrating workers from the police, Markievicz recruited volunteers to peel potatoes in a basement while she and others worked on distributing food. Due to the fact that the funds for this operation came out of her own pocket, she was forced to take out many loans and sold the vast majority of her jewellery. This piece, coming from her collection according to the family is therefore extremely rare.
€700/1100
Lot 99
EDWARD WILLIAM COOKE, R.A. (1811-1880), Evening Before a Storm on the Lagoon of Venice, Servolo in the Distance, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1869 lower right, old Picadilly Gallery label verso, 27” (66cm) x 42” (97cm). (1) Provenance: Private Irish Collection in Dublin 4 - first time on the open market since the 1960s €15,000/25,000
Lot 400:
A FINE 19TH CENTURY FRENCH BRASS SONNERIE REPEATER CARRIAGE CLOCK,
by Grohe, the circular enamel dial with Roman numerals, above two subsidiary dials for date and alarm, the case with five glass panels, on a conforming base, raised by four mermaid type classical figures, and swing handle, 7" (18cm)h. (1) €5000 - 7000
Lot 401
IN THE MANNER OF GEORGE BULLOCK
AN EXCEPTIONAL REGENCY PERIOD ROSEWOOD BREAKFAST TABLE, the rectangular triple banded flip top with rounded corners, on ring turned stem with quadruple brass inlaid pod and splayed legs, the legs terminating in massive cast brass lion paw feet, 5ft2" (157cm)h x 4ft (122cm). (1) Provenance: Wandesford Family, Castlecomer House (now demolished), Co. Kilkenny; to the private collection of the late Mrs Claire Cosgrave of Terenure €7000 - 11000
Lot 793
A FINE MID-18TH CENTURY IRISH SIDE TABLE, the rectangular moulded top with front rounded corners, above a plain frieze, the front apron with a centre carved shell, issuing gadroon S-scrolls, each terminating in carved rosettes, flanked with conforming side skirts, and raised on front leaf carved scroll cabriole legs, each terminating in hairy lion paw feet, 31'' (79cm)h x 59'' (150cm)w x 27'' (69cm)d. (1) Provenance: Castlemartin, from the collection of Sir Anthony O'Reilly €10,000-15,000
Lot 420
A FINE ERARD DOUBLE ACTION FORTY-THREE STRING EIGHT-PEDAL HARP, patent no. 3415, inscribed Sebastian Erard's patent no. 3415, 18 Great Marlborough St. London, with Royal cypher and the opposing plate inscribed Maker by Special Appointment to his Majesty and the Royal Family, the fluted gilt column with a relief capital, with Grecian figures and motifs, the base with further Grecian figures and anthemions on paw feet, 67" (170cm)h x 34" (87cm)d. (1) Provenance Lissadell House, Co. Sligo, Gore-Booth Family. €1500 - 2500
Lot 870
A PORSCHE DIESEL 329 TRACTOR, note: the 329 three-cylinder air cooled model were only in production from 1960-1963. This machine spent its working life on a large farm in the South of France. It was acquired by the present owner about ten years ago and was painstakingly restored. It comes with a mid mounted mowing bar. The three cylinder version was the highest quality model in the Porsche range, this made it more expensive to compete with its competitors, and so fewer were produced, which makes this a rare example, especially in such good condition. (1) €16,500 - 20,000
Lot 880
A PAIR OF VERY LARGE GREAT IRISH DEER OR ELK ANTLERS, (Megaloceros Giganteus – now extinct), 11,000 years old approx., the reconstructed skull with two antlers spanning a width of almost 10ft (304cm) and a height of 4ft (122cm), nine points to the left and eight to the right, with composition restoration. Provenance: Mountainstown House Navan Co. Meath, The Pollock Family, found on the estate. €8,000/12,000
Lot 1025
TOLKEIN J.R.R., The Lord of the Rings, published by Allen & Unwin 1954/55, 1st UK Edition with all final impressions, The Fellowship of the Ring, published July 29th 1954, 1st impression 1 of 1500 printed for the UK, The Two Towers, also a 1st impression published November 11th 1954, 1 of 2250 printed for the UK, The Return of the King, 1st impression again published October 20th 1955, this first state copy lacking the signature mark 4 and the slip type on page 49. An extraordinary set of first editions, the set fully re-bound in black Moroco leather, with red leather inserts with the title and author gilt stamped. Each volume features the title and author in Tengwar script on front boards, with J.R.R.T. monogram in gilt to the rear boards, single gilt rule to the inside and outside edges, the set has hand marbled custom end papers by Joan Ajara of Australia, with silk ribbon markers bound in all edges, trimmed and gilded and is housed in the custom case, designed to mirror the image of the books, as well as to protect them, each volume, 8.75'' (22cm). (3) €7,000 - 11,000
LOT 368
A FINE QUALITY LADIES CARTIER TANK FRANCAISE DIAMOND-SET WRIST WATCH, the square dial without numerals and with gold sword hands, flanked to each side with a row of diamonds, no. 331689MC, 77g overall. (1) €7500 - 8500
