There were some very strong prices – and some big surprises – during the two-day Chatsworth fine art sale at Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers which ended on Wednesday afternoon and turned out to be the most interesting auction of the year to date.
A collection of stained glass church windows made by the Harry Clarke Studios in Dublin, sold in seven separate lots, made a combined total of €88,500 – surging above the collective top estimate of €25,000. The auctioneers said that all had been acquired by Irish bidders and look likely, therefore, to remain in Ireland.
The two top lots were acquired by the Jesuits – and depict the Catholic Order's co-founder, St Francis Xavier. A single panel titled 'Saint Francis Xavier preaching in the Orient' made €31,000 – 10 times the estimate (€2,500-€3,500); and a three-panelled window, 'Saint Francis Xavier' measuring about 8ft by 2ft, made €21,000 (the estimate was €7,000-€9,000).
Selection of paintings
A window depicting Adam and Eve – catalogued as "moody, sensuous and truly lovely" made €9,500 (€3,000-€4,000); and, a single panel for a window, 'St Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes', sold for €6,500 – 13 times the top estimate (€400-€500).
In the furniture section, a 19th-century Killarney-ware collector’s cabinet sold for €34,000 – more than double the top estimate (€10,000 – €15,000).
A collection of the personal belongings of Irish first World War officer Major EF Farrell, of Co Meath, who served with the Leinster Regiment, sold for €7,250 after intense bidding that went way beyond the estimate (€1,000-€1,500). A Half-length Portrait of Lady Gregory by Sir Gerald Festus Kelly sold for €15,000 – again comfortably above estimate (€8,000-€12,000).
A selection of paintings owned by the late Judge James A Murnaghan – on the market for the first time – included a 16th-century Italian School oil-on-panel titled The Holy Family and John the Baptist that sold for €7,000 (€800-€1,200); and, a 19th-century Neapolitan School gouache of Mount Vesuvius erupting that made €3,400 (€700-€1,000).
A rare, painted bronze car mascot in the shape of a falcon on a perch and signed AV Miller sold to an online bidder in the USA for €2,700 – almost eight times the highest estimate (€250-€350).
Bleeding bowl
A very early Russian icon depicting the Nativity of Christ with the visiting shepherds and the three kings sold for €1,600 (€220-€130).
A late 19th-century silver “bleeding bowl” – once used by doctors for blood-letting when treating certain ailments – sold for €670 – three times the highest estimate (€160 –€220).
Not all estimates were exceeded. An Edwardian carved oak Cuckoo Clock – in working order – was estimated at €200-€300 but sold to the only bidder for €160.
