A remarkable sculpture formed by interlinked oak leaves cast in bronze which Surrey fine art auctioneer Ewbank Clarke Gammon Wellers will sell next week has been identified by the artist, Irish-born Linda Brunker, as the key work that launched her career.

Speaking from her gallery in West Hollywood, Californina, Ms Brunker said: “This was the first piece I made in this open filigree style and got great reviews when it was shown in “Sculpture in Context” exhibition at Fernhill Gardens in Dublin in 1988 – the year I graduated from the National College of Art and Design. I simply titled it “Oak”. There were two subsequent pieces called “Foliose”, one of which is in the Allied Irish Bank collection. This is a key piece which launched my career.”

Created to be displayed in a garden setting, the sculpture is modelled as a four-foot wide figure of a kneeling woman, formed by a mantle of oak leaves which seem to have drifted over her as she crouches protectively over a tiny oak sapling. In a review of “Sculpture in Context” in 1988, Irish Sunday Tribune art critic Aidan Dunne described her work as a “highpoint of the exhibition”, while he felt “Oak” to be “ingenious and metaphorically rich”.

The work was purchased along with four other pieces by the present owner directly from the artist and is estimated at £8,000-12,000 in the Ewbank Clarke Gammon Wellers sale next Thursday (September 24).

Ms Brunker’s work rarely comes to auction. The five pieces are being sold because the family is downsizing. “Resting Oak”, is another bronze figure formed by leaves, the subject crouching clutching her knees while standing on tip toes on the exposed roots of the tree. “Homeward” is a face looking skyward, formed by the abstract shapes of birds’ wings, while “A Wave Forming” is a female figure formed by starfish and the fronds of seaweed. In contrast, “Siren” is a solid bronze depicting a birdlike female, her wings folded about her body. Each is estimated at £1,500-2,500.

Linda Brunker (b. 1966) has been a full time sculptor since graduating from the National College of Art and Design, in Dublin in 1988 in Ireland. She emigrated to the U.S. in 2005, where her innovative style of bronze casting astonished not only the foundry where she worked but also the public who rushed to buy her sculptures.

Her work is typically based on the human figure and has a strong ecological and spiritual quality. Natural elements such as leaves and feathers are intricately woven together to create elegant figures “composed into flowing shapes which echo the rhythms of wind, fire and water” which are then cast in bronze.
She has done several large commissions including “The People’s Counsil”, City Hall, Laguna Beach 2006, “Signal”, commissioned by RTE in Dublin 1996 and many others. Her works are in various collections worldwide and she has had many solo and group exhibitions.

For further information, please contact Christopher Ewbank FRICS on 01483 223101 or antiques@ewbankauctions.co.uk.

A bronze statue of a seated Buddhist deity presented by Mahatma Gandhi to his Irish friend Emma Harker has fetched 6,840 pounds in London.

The hammer price of the 13-inch-high figure, possibly of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokitesvara, at Bonhams sale of Chinese and other Asian Works of Art was inclusive of buyer’s premium.

The estimated price of figure was 3,000-5,000 pounds.

Emma went to India to stay with her daughter whose husband was in the civil services there. It was through that influential connection that she became close friends with senior politicians, particularly Sarojini Naidu who accompanied Gandhi in his famous Dandi salt march.

A letter from Gandhi to Emma, dated September 19, 1934 suggests she volunteered to assist with relief work among the poor in flooded areas of Bihar and Orissa.

Virtual Auction (http://www.virtual-auction.biz), an online auction company that offers a unique bidding platform that runs live, real-time auctions will be introducing its software to the auction industry this month. The introduction will take place during the National Auctioneers Association’s yearly tradeshow in Overland Park, Kansas July 13-18.

The software, which has become increasingly popular in several industries since the company’s launch early this year, offers live auctions. Unlike timed eBay auctions, live auctions foster a competitive environment, which creates a sense of urgency and drives prices higher. Additionally, the Virtual Auction platform has a virtual auctioneer who captures the excitement found in the ring. This gives bidders a more enjoyable, interactive environment and liquidation happens quickly—in minutes rather than days.

For obvious reasons, the company believes that this kind of platform will be of great interest to the brick and mortar auction houses, and they anticipate a very good response from the tradeshow later this month.

“Any auctioneer can benefit from our technology. Virtual Auction will allow them to run unlimited auctions 24/7 while providing millions of buyers around the world access to bid. We believe our interactive auction technology will encourage more end users to get involved with the auction process thereby increasing revenue per lot sold for the auction house and its’ clients. There’s unlimited earning potential. It’s a no-brainer,” stated Virtual Auction CEO, Steven Kirsch.

This move is just the latest in the company’s push to success. Last month, they began partnering with a top search engine optimization firm, Increase Visibility, to ensure that both their site and their clients’ products receive as much exposure and traffic as possible. They are also in talks with several marketing firms and portals to enhance their platform and customers’ auction visibility.

“We understand that strategic partnerships, from marketing to search to other auction sites, are vital for our growth and for the overall exposure that we can give to our clients. To this end, we are committed to finding the best partners and continuously improving both our technology and our reach,” said Kirsch.

Virtual Auction is based in Miami, Florida. They have provided their web-based technology across multiple industries and businesses, nationally and internationally. Their easy-to-use, online platform offers a turnkey setup that can be inserted into any website within minutes with low support requirements. Integration is simple and brand specific. Each company is provided with a home page and URL, which they can customize to align with company fonts, logos, and styles. For more information, visit the Virtual Auction site at http://www.virtual-auction.biz.

Ireland raised €1 billion in two well-received bond sales today as sentiment towards the economy, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said today

“I think people are more and more certain that Ireland is dealing with the… problems that we have and the bonds have rallied significantly,” NTMA deputy director Anthony Linehan said today. “Like all things that perform well people want to get on board.”

Ireland plans to sell two bonds in an auction on August 18th, the National Treasury Management Agency has announced..

The 2014 bond will pay a 4 percent coupon, while the 2018 paper will carry a 4.5 coupon, the NTMA said. The amounts to be auctioned will be announced on Friday.

On July 16th space buffs around the world were tuned in to Bonhams New York’s first ever Space Sale. Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of man’s first steps on the Moon, the sale consisted of nearly 400 lots of objects and documents pertaining to the history of Space Exploration.

The importance of the auction was not missed. Space aficionados from around the globe filled the phone lines and the Madison Avenue galleries were at standing room only capacity, even drawing Apollo 13 astronaut, Fred Haise, to appear in person.

Without a doubt the most coveted item of the event was the Apollo 11 Lunar Surface star chart used to take celestial measurements on the surface of the moon immediately after the Eagle’s landing. Used by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the partner star chart made just prior to their departure from the Moon is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum. Of great historical importance, the lot sparked a long round of furious bidding- resulting in the lot soaring past its estimate of $70/90,000 with a final price of $218,000.

Also causing a great amount of auction excitement was an official Apollo 11 crew emblem (pictured, left) originally from astronaut Michael Collins’ collection. Silk screened onto non-flammable Beta cloth, the lot is one the few items carried on the Apollo 11 mission that was later signed by Neil Armstrong. With its extraordinarily rare Armstrong signature and its visually powerful tie to the Apollo 11 mission, the piece inspired fierce bidding. As the gavel fell, the emblem brought $61,000- well above than its estimate of $25/35,000.

Other Apollo 11 lots that proved irresistible to bidders were a flown set of sheets used to align the Eagle’s navigational equipment, which brought $33,550 against an estimate of $15/20,000, and two flight plan sheets which each brought $27,450 against estimates of $15/20,000.

However, it was clear that auction-goers were interested in much more than just Apollo 11.

A model of a Saturn V rocket from the collection of Dr. Maxime Faget drew much bidder interest. Adding to the model’s appeal was a 1966 black and white photograph of Dr. Faget with this model while discussing aspects of a lunar mission with visiting foreign dignitaries. Carrying an estimate of $10/15,000, the lot well surpassed expectations bringing $27,450.

Also from Dr. Faget’s collection was one of the earliest constructed scale models of the Mercury spacecraft and an early Space Shuttle model. Both outperformed with the Mercury model fetching $21, 960 against an estimated $10/15,000 and the Space Shuttle model bringing $22,800 against an estimate of $7/9,000.

Apollo 13 devotees were also given exceptional collecting opportunities. A contingency checklist sheet providing critical steps for rapid activation of the Lunar Module during the mission’s emergency conditions was on offer. Bearing several notes from astronauts Fred Haise and John Lovell, the lot sparked no less than a bidding war fetching $27,000 against an estimate of $3,500/4,500 – more than six times its top estimate. Additionally, Fred Haise’s standard-issue, military sunglasses with a Beta cloth case were presented. Expected to fetch $3/4,000, this lot also dramatically outperformed bringing a final price of $18,000.

Other items bringing exceptional results were an extra large flag carried on Apollo 10 (Est. $5/7,000) which drew an impressive $19,520 and a bible carried to the Moon on Apollo 13 (Est. $1,500/2,000) which fetched $14,400 – an amazing seven times more than its top estimate. Also not to be overlooked were an Apollo 15 Flight Attitude Controller for the Lunar Module Falcon and an Apollo 16 cuff-mounted checklist from astronaut Fred Haise’s collection which both brought $206,000, and the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing sequence which sold post-auction for $152,000.

“This sale was truly extraordinary and drew in a lot of collectors who had not bid in a traditional, live auction before,” stated Bonhams Specialist, Matthew Haley. “The atmosphere in the saleroom was amazing and with such an overwhelming response, we’re definitely aiming to repeat the success in the future.”

http://www.bonhams.com/space

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE: RBA) (TSX: RBA), the world’s largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, operating through over 110 locations in 25 countries around the world, will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss its 2009 Q2 Earnings on Friday, August 7, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (8:00 a.m. Pacific Time).
This call is being webcast by Thomson/CCBN and can be accessed at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers web site at www.rbauction.com.

The webcast is also being distributed through the Thomson StreetEvents Network. Individual investors can listen to the call at www.earnings.com, Thomson’s individual investor portal, powered by StreetEvents. Institutional investors can access the call via Thomson StreetEvents (www.streetevents.com), a password-protected event management site.

Rugby memorabilia belonging to Irish rugby legend Karl Mullen is to go under the hammer at a County Kilkenny auction house.

Mullen captained Ireland to their first Grand Slam victory against Wales at Ravenhill on 13 March 1948.

The Karl Mullen collection, being sold by Mealy’s at Gilltown Lodge in Kilcullen, Co Kildare, includes signed programmes and dinner menus, scrapbooks, photographs, books and prints.

Dublin-based television network Setanta has won the rights to broadcast 33 Premier League games next season in Ireland.

The company won an auction to broadcast matches on Saturdays at 3 p.m. Financial terms were not disclosed. The network lost all its rights last month to broadcast games in Britain because of financial difficulties.

American broadcaster ESPN has purchased Setanta’s lost British rights as well as rights to 46 other matches in Ireland.

Tucows Inc. a global provider of domain names, email and other Internet services, announced today the preliminary results of its modified Dutch auction tender offer, which expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 9, 2009. Tucows expects to purchase 1,115,000 shares of its Common Stock at a purchase price of $0.45 per share, for a total of $501,750. The 1,115,000 shares expected to be purchased are comprised of the 1,000,000 share Tucows offered to purchase and 115,000 shares to be purchased pursuant to Tucows right to purchase up to an additional 2% of the shares outstanding immediately prior to the commencement of the tender offer. Due to oversubscription, Tucows expects the final proration factor for shares tendered at or below $0.45 per share to be approximately 99.8%. For this purpose, shares tendered at or below $0.45 per share will include shares tendered by those persons who indicated, in their letter of transmittal, that they are willing to accept the price determined in the offer. All shares purchased in the tender offer will receive the same price.

The price per share and the proration factor are preliminary and subject to verification by StockTrans, Inc., the depositary for the tender offer. The actual price per share and the proration factor will be announced promptly following completion of the verification process. After the determination of the actual price per share and the proration factor, the depositary will issue payment for the shares accepted under the tender offer and return all shares not accepted.

Tucows commenced the tender offer on May 26, 2009, when it offered to purchase up to 4,000,000 shares of its Common Stock at a price between $0.36 and $0.45 per share, net to the seller in cash, without interest. On June 24, the Company reduced the amount of Common Stock that it was offering to repurchase under the offer to 1,000,000 shares and extended the offer to July 9, 2009.

As a result of the completion of the tender offer, Tucows expects to have 67,742,321 shares issued and outstanding as of the time immediately following payment for the tendered shares.

About Tucows

Tucows is a global Internet services company. OpenSRS manages over 8 million domain names and millions of email boxes through a reseller network of over 9,000 web hosts and ISPs. Hover is the easiest way for individuals and small businesses to manage their domain names and email addresses. YummyNames owns premium domain names that generate revenue through advertising or resale. Butterscotch.com is an online video network building on the foundation of Tucows.com. More information can be found at http://tucowsinc.com.

Over 90 ex-British army homes in Ballykelly will hit the market later this week at knock-down prices starting at under £80,000.

Daniel Henry Estate Agents is selling the two and three-bedroom semi-detached homes on behalf of the Northern Ireland firm, Fisher, the company bought the properties at Hill Close and Forest Drive four years ago at public auction after the army moved out.

Viewings for two show homes starts on Thursday evening from 7-9pm, Friday between 3-5pm and 7-9pm. There is an additional showing on Saturday between 2-4pm

www.danielhenry.co.uk

Proxibid, the world’s largest provider of live auction webcasting services, today announced that it will provide live online bidding for Manheim Harrisonburg’s June 27 heavy equipment auction. The live auction event will take place at Manheim’s Harrisonburg location beginning at 9:00 a.m. EDT, with live online bidding beginning at that time. Auction registration and pre-bidding are already available by visiting www.proxibid.com/manheim.

More than 400 lots of high-quality, low-hour equipment from the Commonwealth of Virginia will cross the auction block during this live auction webcast. All types of equipment, including rubber tire loaders, track loaders, backhoes, excavators, dump trucks (one-ton and up), crash cushions trucks, bucket trucks, pickup trucks, box trucks, salt spreaders, snow plows, chain saws, wood chippers, trailers and more will be available for live online bidding. Everything will be sold absolute.

“Bringing this auction online with Proxibid enables us to capture a global audience,” said a Manheim spokesperson. “With so much to choose from, there is something to meet the needs of every bidder in this auction. Bidders from across the world will have the opportunity to bid on and win high-quality equipment at the best prices available.”

All rolling stock in this auction will be driven across the auction block during the event. The sale will be held rain or shine at Manheim’s inside sales arena. For more information about this auction, to register to bid or to leave a pre-bid, please visit www.proxibid.com/manheim.

About Proxibid

Since 2002, Proxibid has webcast more than 18,000 auctions – more than any other company in the industry. Proxibid’s proprietary live Internet bidding service and Web site were developed by auctioneers and industry-leading professionals to provide our bidders with the most user-friendly and comprehensive live online auction experience possible.

Proxibid’s customer service and support is unmatched in the industry. The company’s toll-free support center is open before, during and after every live auction, and is staffed with bi-lingual auction specialists who assist both bidders and auctioneers. For more information about Proxibid, please visit us online at www.proxibid.com.

A silverware collection of the late CJ Haughey will be auctioned in Dublin next Tuesday at James Adam’s auction rooms.

Haughey amassed the collection of Irish silver during his long career. The most valuable item in the collection is a silver salver from 1966, which comes with a guide price of €2,000 to €3,000.

The collection includes condiment sets, sauce boats and cream jugs, unremarkable but for the fact that they may have graced the table at Abbeville’s fine dining room.

Viewing:
Sunday 21st June
2.00pm-5.00pm

Monday 22nd June
9.30am – 5.00pm

James Adam & Sons Ltd
26 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland Tel: + 353 1 676 0261 Fax: + 353 1 662 4725

www.jamesadam.ie

Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency raised €500 million each of the 2012 and 2016 bonds, the top of its €750 million to €1 billion range, and auctioned €500 million of 3.9 per cent notes maturing in 2012 to yield an average of 3.056 per cent, and €500 million of 4.6 per cent securities due 2016 to yield 4.755 per cent.

The Irish government has so far raised over €14 billion of the €25 billion in debt it has earmarked this year to help plug a budget deficit.

IpAuctions, Inc. (www.ipauctions.com) will auction six pharmaceutical patent applications on behalf of pharmaceutical technology company Accu-Break Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ABP) (www.accubreak.com) of Plantation, Florida, United States.

The first of the available applications, entitled “Method of Treating Hypertension With A Very Low Dose of Chlorthalidone,” has a number of claims already allowed. Allowance of additional pending claims appears to be available by making minor amendments, such as changing the claim dependency. NIH-sponsored studies have indicated that chlorthalidone (CTD) is safer and more effective than hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and as a result, CTD became the diuretic of choice for a number of major NIH outcomes studies, including ALLHAT. CTD is approximately twice as potent as HCTZ and provides several day control of blood pressure compared to HCTZ, which is barely a once-a-day product. An opportunity to potentially provide a 6.25mg dose of CTD (especially in combination with a second antihypersensitive agent) would yield a product with an improved side-effect profile and efficacy. There are no low-dose CTD products on the market today, despite its proven safety and efficacy.

The second application is directed to “Methods of Treating Dialysis-Induced Hypotension,” and claims a novel treatment using an antihypotensive, e.g., midodrine, desglymidodrine, or the like. There is a present need for an effective treatment of intra-dialytic hypotension (IDH) that occurs in patients undergoing dialysis for acute renal failure. There is also a need for symptomatic treatment, in addition to the prophylactic use, of an antihypotensive agent to increase systolic blood pressure in a patient while undergoing dialysis. This application discloses novel methods of treating and preventing the serious and unpleasant syndrome of IDH in dialysis patients while undergoing treatment, including treatment for acute renal failure.

The third application is for “Compositions and Methods Using a Cardiac Glycoside.” This application claims methods and dosage forms using a low dose of digoxin or digitoxin in patients suffering from reduced creatinine clearance, renal insufficiency or chronic renal failure, and concomitant cardiovascular disease. The application is currently under a restriction requirement for election of the methods or dosage forms as described and claimed.

The fourth application relates to “Novel Compositions and Treatment of Type II Diabetes and Hypertension” and claims methods and dosage forms using a thiazolidinedione (glitazone) in combination with a thiazide or thiazide-type diuretic (e.g., HCTZ) to prevent or treat edema induced by the glitazone. This treatment is advantageous over the recommended withdrawal of glitazone administration following development of the side effect of fluid retention, and may be an effective alternative to the use of loop diuretics.

The fifth application is for “Compositions and Methods Using Torsemide” and claims clinical utility of low-dose torsemide, and dosage forms having novel score patterns that readily provide those low doses. Also included as part of the invention are products combining torsemide with antidiabetics, such as glitazones. These novel approaches can provide the advantages of lower doses (and consequent lower side effects) while providing greater dosing flexibility during treatment, e.g., a graduated dosing regimen in pre-diabetic patients.

The sixth application relates to “Compositions and Methods Comprising a Thiazide Diuretic and a Mineralocorticoid Inhibitor.” This application claims methods and dosage forms employing low doses of an aldosterone antagonist (mineralocorticoid inhibitor), such as spironolactone or eplerenone, and a thiazide, such as chlorthalidone, for co-administration or in a combination dosage form. The lower doses of active ingredient(s) allow for reduced side effects, including lower risk of potassium loss (hypokalemia), with additive or synergistic effects for treatment or prevention of cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, heart failure, and related disorders.

ABP is selling the patent applications “because the focus and strategy of the Company has changed with the development of its innovative Accu-Break® tablet technologies,” explained Robert I. Goldfarb, President of ABP.

About Accu-Break Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

ABP is a private pharmaceutical technology company headquartered in South Florida. ABP is developing Accu-Break® technologies for pharmaceutical tablets. The innovative and patented technologies allow the creation of tablets that can be easily divided by hand into exact smaller doses, offering complete dose flexibility via risk free tablet splitting. The Company believes that these Accu-Break® technologies offer a differentiated and clinically beneficial advantages compared to conventional dosage forms and may be applied to single and combination drug products, standard and controlled release formulations with broad applicability in human and veterinary prescription and OTC medicines. Accu-Break technologies can provide:

Product differentiation through value added product enhancements

Life cycle management

Solutions for incompatible APIs

Easy dose adjustment for accurate and customized dosing needs

Clinical trial efficiencies through the use of multi-dose tablets

About IpAuctions®, Inc.

IpAuctions®, Inc. (www.IpAuctions.com) is the leading online auction firm specializing in the sale of intellectual property assets. The firm has a proprietary worldwide database of over 8,500 IP attorneys, corporate and private buyers, and venture capitalists who wish to monetize their intellectual property.