Antiques: Cork, Limerick and Dublin sales offer top buys
The National Antique, Art and Vintage fair at Limerick racecourse, a two-day At Home sale by James Adam and one of the largest-ever convent contents sales by Victor Mee make for a very busy upcoming week.Collectors will find all sorts of everything, from rugs to art to porcelain and cloissonné ware to coins and banknotes and antique furniture at Ireland's biggest fair at Limerick Racecourse at 11am today and tomorrow (June 6 and 7). With Tiffany-style lamps from Raymond Byrne, porcelain from Brian Hurley, coins and militaria from Robert Hutchinson, art from Treasures of Athlone and galleries like the Purple Onion, Persian rugs from Annamoe Antiques, variety at Country Mile Antiques and jewellery and vintage items, this treasure trove has the capacity to fire the imagination of any collector. With ample parking, loads of space and price points to suit every pocket, Limerick Racecourse will provide all the fun of the fair over the next two days.A real Limerick rarity, a c1755 silver sugar bowl by Jasper Johns, is the top lot on day one at the James Adam At Home auction this Tuesday (June 9). The two-day sale is online only. It is on view in Dublin from today until Tuesday. There is an extensive collection of silver, fine furniture, rugs, decorative interiors and works of art among 610 lots on offer. Tuesday's sale with 255 lots is dedicated to silver and offers an appetising selection of rare Irish provincial silver from Limerick and Cork. A c1755 Limerick silver sugar bowl at Adam's.The Jasper Johns sugar bowl has an estimate of €8,000-€10,000. Other top lots include a Limerick soup ladle by Samuel Johns (€5,000-€7,000), a pair of serving spoons by Maurice Fitzgerald of Limerick c1780 (€4,500-€5,500), a pair of c1795 Cork silver sauce boats by John Warner (€4,500-€5,500), a c1790 Cork sugar bowl by John Gibson (€3,000-€5,000), a c1780 Cork silver soup ladle by Carden Terry (€2,500-€3,500) and a c1755 Cork silver loving cup by John Warner (€2,000-€3,000).Among the more unusual lots at Adam's on Wednesday are two pairs of highly distinctive vintage Anglo-American sunglasses by Lawrence Jenkin from the 1970s, Parrots and Liberty Flame (€500-€700). Another timely offering is a pair of 1985 Oliver Goldsmith Tennis Racquets Wimbledon sunglasses (€800-€1,200). Anglo-American sunglasses from the 1970s, designed by Lawrence Jenkin, at James Adam.Leading lots on the second day of the At Home auction are a 19th-century Louis XVI-style giltwood suite (€3,000-€5,000), an inlaid Killarney wood jewellery cabinet (€2,000-€3,000), a pair of Italian marquetry and walnut console tables (€2,000-€3,000), a Kashan carpet from central Persia (€2,000-€3,000) and a George IV mahogany dining table on twin quadruped supports (€1,500-€2,500).The 1700-lot three-day sale by Victor Mee of contents from the Convent of Mercy in Newry, other convents and clients on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is remarkable on many fronts. One of the largest convent sales ever held in Ireland harks back to the 1990s, when convent and friary sales were frequent. Nowadays, it is the contents of pubs that feature regularly at sales. The old Ireland is transforming rapidly, in front of our eyes.Among the top lots in an auction on view in Newry until Monday evening are two remarkable Killarney wood pieces of furniture, a marquetry davenport and a shaped centre table, each estimated at €8,000-€12,000 and a rediscovered painting of The Madonna of the Lakes by Sir John Lavery (€5,000-€10,000). A rediscovered triptych by Sir John Lavery at Victor Mee.The study for the Lavery triptych in St Patrick's Church, Belfast, was presented by the artist to Fr John O'Neill in 1919. It depicts the Madonna, St Patrick and St Brigid and is estimated at €5,000-€10,000.There are six harps made by the Belfast craftsman James McFall in the late 19th/early 20th. centuries. The McFall harp, closely associated with the Irish cultural revival movement, became popular in convent schools and institutions throughout Ireland. The auction offers a large Irish Georgian breakfront bookcase, a wake table measuring ten feet in length and various other lots of Killarney furniture. This is a sale with a strong mix of ecclesiastical pieces, Irish furniture, silver, art and interiors. The online catalogue will reward a thorough examination.
