Tiny things have a special appeal. And miniature houses, furnished with tiny furniture and even tinier accessories, tend to bring out the child in us; perhaps because, in order to see them properly, we need to bend down, look closely and pay attention. Top-notch doll’s houses and their contents also bring out the collectors – which will surely be the case on September 9th, when a selection of exquisitely-detailed miniatures from a single collection comes under the hammer at Adam’s At Home sale on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin.
Lot 122 (€200-€300) provides the perfect ambience for the best-dressed salon, supplying a grand piano, side chair, two tables and a footstool. Lot 92 (€200-€300) is an adorable miniature fireplace set, with an iron-and-brass chimney piece and a brass and copper coal helmet and shovel. When teatime comes around, lot 114 (€100-€200), a five-piece silver tea service, comes into its own. And no darkness will ever fall on a doll’s house furnished with lot 138 (€40-€60), a miniature bronze model of a 17th-century Dutch ceiling light, its six scrolling branches just 10cm in diameter.
Full-sized salon
Back in the full-sized salon, there’s also delight to be had by paying attention to details. Look under the armrests of a Regency mahogany armchair (lot 383, €500-€800) and you’ll find a pair of brass Egyptian sphinxes. There are more sphinxes on its legs, a design which is vaguely redolent of luxury car badges, giving it the look of a chair which might take off towards the horizon at any moment. The central panel of an Irish George IV pierced brass gallery fender (lot 233, €300-€500) boasts a central panel decorated with the triumph of the sea god Neptune – a handy chap to have around if the fire threatens to get out of hand.
The most expensive of the auction’s 500 lots is an elaborately-carved William IV mahogany and marble side table (lot 399, €4,000-€6,000), its frieze and legs a riot of acanthus leaves and masks. An Irish George III card table (lot 369, €1,000-€1,500) may appear to be of a much plainer form, but its frieze is embellished with the traditional Irish scallop shell – and the motif is repeated on each foot of its graceful cabriole legs.
No salon – large or small – is complete without a splendid mirror, and this sale contains examples to suit all budgets and interior design styles.
For exuberant rococo curlicues it would be hard to beat lot 354 (€800-€1,200), a large 19th-century giltwood overmantle mirror, its panels embellished with leaves, icicles and birds, though lot 388 (€1,500-€2,500), a Regency convex mirror in a lotus-wrapped frame surmounted by lavish acanthus cresting and an oak leaf and acorn apron, comes pretty close. Considerably more self-contained is lot 360 (€800-€1,200), a George IV circular giltwood mirror. Lot 415 (€500-€700) is a pair of arts and crafts carved wood mirrors, while a series of gilded lion masks brings a regal touch to lot 337 (€400-€600), an ebonised rectangular overmantle mirror.
Dining chairs at modest prices are another feature of this sale, with lot 264 (€2,000-€3,000) offering an unusual set of 14 open square-back chairs. The tablet backs of lot 223 (€1,500-€2,000) are inlaid with conch-shells. Anyone in search of a real bargain should check out lot 238 (€500-€800), a set of nine George IV inlaid mahogany rail-back chairs with lyre-shaped backs. Made in Cork around 1830, these chairs from a private collection were in a previous sale with an estimate of €3,000-€5,000.
There’s good value to be had at the moment, too, in traditional paintings. Lot 247 (€3,000-€5,000) comprises a pair of landscapes by the Scottish painter William Traies, who worked in Devon and captured its beauty through careful attention to the nitty-gritty details of sky and foliage. Lot 310 (€800-€1,200), a lively depiction of cellists by the Belgian painter Léon Marie Constant Dansaert, is presented in a luxurious gold frame.
Vintage trunks are one of the hottest items on the current interior decor scene, and lot 452 (€500-€700) is an early example from Louis Vuitton. Bearing a canvas-lined interior and its original travel label for Ellerman Lines shipping company, its brown-and-mustard pattern is still instantly recognisable. For something more idiosyncratic – and considerably less expensive – lot 467 (€300-€500) is made up of three Edwardian metal-bound trunks, each with its own distinct character and well-travelled style.
Decorative objects
The At Home catalogue contains a number of unusual decorative objects, including a pair of continental porcelain vases and covers (lot 258, €600-€800), their bottle-shaped bodies emblazoned with fruiting vines and birds against a ground of snowball flowerheads.
Lot 101 (€50-€100) is a piece of first World War propaganda: a bronze pig, its helmeted head that of the German kaiser. Lot 195 (€100-€200) is a rare Victorian carved brooch. Made from bog-oak, it has much in common with the Killarney ware furniture tradition, and features a harp surrounded by flower decorations.
Finally, if there’s a potential “sleeper” in the At Home sale, it might just be a bronze rabbit by the Swiss sculptor Edouard Marcel Sandoz (lot 495, €800-€1,200). It’s just 4cm high and 6cm long, but it manages to contain the essence of art nouveau shape and style – as well as suggest, somehow, an animal which is totally engaged in crouching and nibbling. There it is again: the appeal of tiny, perfect things.
