China’s top exports in 2020 were broadcasting equipment, computers and circuits, according to the Observation of Economic Complexity (OEC). But back in the 17th century it was a far more opulent affair. The taste for all things oriental started when tea drinking became fashionable in London and goods such as porcelain, silk, spices and lacquerware were in such demand that it outstripped supply. To keep up, English joiners decorated their work to imitate oriental lacquer, especially with a finish known as japanning; a European imitation of east Asian lacquer work.
At the forthcoming Monte Alverno sale, which will be conducted by Sotheby's in London on May 26th, the highlight of the sale is a George I japanned bureau from 1720, in the manner of John Belchier. The piece, in gilt and scarlet, has Chinese-influenced decoration, "perfectly demonstrating the two great influences on English design of the period", according to catalogue notes.
It is believed to have come from Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, the Victorian gothic mansion that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the second World War. It was presumably acquired by Sir Herbert Leon, who owned the 581-acre estate, until it was later acquired by Sir Hugh Sinclair for the sole use by the Government Code and Cypher Schools and the Secret Intelligence Service (£150,000-£250,000/€177,500-€295,820).
The bureau is just one of almost 100 lots included in the sale as part of the private collection of Monte Alverno, the 19th century baronial style mansion on Sorrento Road in Dalkey which sold last year for €5.85 million, according to the Property Price Register. Acquired in 1993 by businessman Alphonsus O’Mara, the interiors were richly decorated with the feel of a gentleman’s club, full of fine art, leather sofas and oriental rugs.
As you would expect, a Jack B Yeats features in the collection. The City is one of several landscapes produced by the artist when he lived in Dublin and depicts the wide grandeur of College Green with a young boy in the foreground (£150,000-£250,000/€177,500-€295,820).
With clean graphics and primitive still life, William Scott’s Still Life with Orange, (£120,000-£180,000/€142,000-€212,990) reflects his challenge to academic tradition and has been described as a “negotiation between austerity and sensuality” according to catalogue notes.
Some remarkable Georgian furniture features including a pair of Irish George III satinwood demi-lune tables, attributed to James Hicks (£20,000-£25,000/€23,670-€29,580) and an Irish George II carved mahogany open armchair. The heavily ornate chair was part of furniture company Parker Knoll's collection accumulated as an educational tool for its craftsmen, so they could understand techniques and draw inspiration (£15,000-£25,000/€17,750-€29,580).
Other sales
Elsewhere this week, in Waterford, RJ Keighery’s sale on Monday, May 23rd, has a 16ft-long Victorian mahogany table (€3,000-€5,000), a number of pieces of Boulle, a vintage Gibson guitar (€300-€500), and an empire-style brass-mounted cabinet (€2,000-€3,000).
On Tuesday, John Weldon will hold a live online sale of a number of fine pieces of jewellery including a pear shaped 1.52ct diamond ring (€4,500-€6,500) and a loose 1ct diamond for those who wish to style their own (€2,500-€3,500). The sale also has a gents' Rolex Sea-Dweller (€8,000-€12,000) and a ladies' stainless steel Cartier Tank Francaise (€1,200-€1,800).
Mullen’s of Laurel Park will hold its Collector Cabinet sale in a live online auction on Saturday, May 28th. With 500 lots of history, militaria and collectables, it has some rare and antiquarian books in addition to sporting memorabilia and toys.
Anyone who likes rambling the hills will appreciate lot 51: a group of 50 glass stereoscope slides from the late 19th century of rock climbers in the Lake District in England. Clad in tweeds, hobnail boots and, in the case of the woman featured, full Victorian attire, they are of and taken by the Abraham family who produced the very first photographs of rock climbers in action, according to catalogue notes. George Perry Abraham established his photographic business in Keswick in the late 1800s and he and his sons George and Ashley climbed together (€300-€500). They would make a marvellous gift for anyone with a penchant for scaling heights.
To give you an indication to the type of camera the men would have had to haul up the side of a mountain to capture these images, lot 52 is a solid mahogany-and-brass tailgate camera measuring 11x11x16 inches from the same period the images were taken (€150-€200).
Lot 104 is a volume of poetry, Inisfail Miscellaneous and Early Poems by Aubrey de Vere, which is inscribed to the verso of the title page by Roger Casement. "For Father Murnane," is written above one of Casement's poems and signed RC, on August 2nd, 1916, in Pentonville. At dawn the following morning, Casement was hanged at Pentonville Prison (€7,000-€10,000).
On Tuesday, May 31st, Ross's Auctioneers in Belfast will hold the Dr T.B.F and Mrs Thompson Garvagh Collection, which is described as an eclectic mix of period furniture, silver, porcelain and art. Highlights include a Georgian secretaire bookcase (£5,000-£7,000/€5,920-€8,280) which was once the property of Sir Thomas Somerset.
sothebys.com, jwa.ie, antiquesireland.ie, mullenslaurelpark.com and rosss.ie
