An extensive single-owner collection of over 800 lots and 3,000 individual items, amassed during the height of the Northern Ireland conflict, will go up for sale at a two-day no-reserve auction at Bonhams Edinburgh on 11th and 12th November.
One of the notable highlights of the sale is Summer Breeze, a pen and ink drawing by celebrated artist Paul Henry (1876-1958), who is generally renowned for oil paintings of iconic Irish landscapes featuring bogs and cottages. What makes this painting particularly interesting is that it is totally unlike Henry’s other works, and this rare charming work is expected to sell for at least £10,000-15,000.
Amassed over a 30 year period by a private collector in Northern Ireland, the collection encapsulates an impressive range of pieces, from intricate metalware and glassware to ceramics, silver, works of art, rugs and a number of striking paintings, many of which are of great Irish interest.
In explaining the circumstances under which the collection was formed, the seller comments: “The vast bulk of the lots in these sales were collected in Northern Ireland during ‘The Troubles’ when we were isolated from the rest of the antiques buying world… when the bombs and bullets were flying it was a rare sight indeed to meet an English, Scottish or even Republic of Ireland dealer or collector at any antique shop or auction…Not everything was a bargain at this time [but]… it was things that required a specialist knowledge that slipped through the net – Oriental ceramics and bronzes, Irish glass and ceramics, early English and European items, Islamic copper and silver.”
The first day of the sale will be devoted to Asian art, including a wide selection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain, pottery, bronzes and jades as well as Indian, Near Eastern and Islamic material. Following this, the second day’s sale will feature Irish delft, pottery and glass, English and Continental porcelain, silver, bronzes, woodwork and pictures.
Another intriguing lot is an 18th Century meat platter from the Dublin pottery of Henry Delamain (circa 1850). This exceptional artefact is copied from a Chinese original; however its buff colour and white glaze demonstrate the properties of rare and fragile delftware, rather than porcelain. This platter is expected to sell for £600-800 and is just one piece from an extensive ceramics collection.
www.bonhams.com/edinburgh
