An engraving of an 18th century French painting, valued at €1,000 sold for €60,000 and was the “sleeper” during day two of Sheppard’s auction at Loughton House in Moneygall, Co Offaly, on September 28th.
Lot 1184 (see picture) was catalogued as “After Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725-1805), eighteenth-century “Portrait of a Young scribe.” Engraving. Enclosed in a carved 18th-century frame 26.5 x 32.5cm.”
The estimate was €800-€1,200. Bidding on the lot started at €800 and lasted for four minutes with bidders online and on the telephone in France – some using interpreters which delayed the prices. In the end, Sheppard’s said, the engraving was sold “on the telephone to a leading Parisian gallery” for €60,000.
An engraving is an early type of print, and the picture is essentially a copy of a painting by Greuze, a renowned 18th century French artist. The name of the engraver is not known.
Sheppard’s said the vendor was a private Irish collector “who purchased it six years ago at Slane Castle for €1,000”.
Other clients
The four-day auction at Loughton House – the country home of Dr
James Reilly
and his wife Dorothy – was due to end Friday night. Sheppard’s said that as well as the contents of Loughton House, some of the 2,700 lots – including the engraving – had been consigned by other clients.
An important collection of 24 pieces of silver, with an estimated combined value of at least €370,000, was withdrawn in advance of the auction by an unnamed client.
At the time of going to press some other notable prices in the auction included: Lot 151, a large garden fountain described as “supported by mermaids and cherubs, surmounted by a cherub riding on the back of a sea horse”, €6,800 (€8,000-€12,000); Lot 263, “The King’s Bed”, a carved-oak sleigh bed reputedly made for King George IV’s visit to Slane Castle in 1821, €4,000 (€4,000-€6,000).
Lot 522, a three-quarter length portrait of Major General Benjamin Bloomfield, the 1st Lord Bloomfield, 1768-1846, by John Lilley, €10,400 (€5,000-€7,000); and, Lot 889, an Ottoman mother-of-pearl veneered wooden chest, €2,500 (€3,000-€5,000).
