From a cabinet to Colombian emeralds: Contents from Irish stately homes for auction
A rare gold-and-platinum bow-design brooch set with 11 Colombian emerald cabochons of varying size, an estate cabinet from Clonmeen House in Banteer and a rediscovered Roderic O'Conor painting exhibited at the Salon des Independents in Paris in 1904 are among the delights at Fonsie Mealy's Chatsworth summer fine art sale in Castlecomer next week. More than 1,300 lots will come under the hammer at the sale, which takes place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (April 29-May 1), including contents from Clonbrock House, Galway, items once at Castletown and objects from other stately homes in Ireland. A bow brooch set with 11 Colombian emeralds at Fonsie Mealy.There is Georgian and Regency furniture from a commission by Gillows in London for Lord Clonbrock, luxury fashion and jewellery, Irish and international art and a variety of collectibles. An Irish George III estate cabinet from Clonmeen House, Banteer, at Fonsie Mealy.An estate cabinet from Clonmeen with numerous pigeon holes was in the collection of Major Stephen Grehan (1895-1972). He fought at the Western Front and at Salonica during the First World War and later in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). The sale features more than 450 furniture lots, including Gillows furniture from Clonbrock and Castletown. An early rosewood sofa table by Gillows of London and Lancaster dates to around 1801 — the time of the Clonbrock commission — and is estimated at just €1,000-€1,500.Lot 249 is an Irish 19th-century gold-cased pocket watch by John Donegan, Dublin, and the sale offers a collection of Irish silverware. The auction is on view in Castlecomer from 1.30pm to 5pm tomorrow and from 10.30am to 5pm on Monday and Tuesday. The catalogue is online.
