Guide prices seem to point the road to nowhere

Auctioneer's guide prices have become something of a joke in the housing market and it seems that they cannot be relied on at art auctions either, particularly when it comes to the best of Irish art. De Veres fetched an astonishing £115,000 for a Roderic O'Conor - Lady in a Summer Hat - at its sale last Tuesday evening. The painting, which had not been seen in public since the 1950s sold to a London dealer for 2 1/2 times its top estimate of £45,000.

This was far and away the top-selling lot of the sale but there were some other strong prices too. Killiney under Snow by William Leech fetched £20,500 under the hammer, while Colin Middleton's The Ventriloquist sold for £12,700. Other results were: Thomas Frye's Young Man in a Classical Landscape, £10,500; Maurice MacGonigal's Morning Haze, £5,200; a reprint of the Petty's atlas of Ireland, printed 1732, made £6,200; Sean Keating's Good Old Stuff, £7,500 and A Quiet day on the Lagan by Frank McKelvey, £7,300.

Meanwhile, Bryan Greene at Thomas P. Adams reports that last Monday's art sale achieved some strong results notably the £6,600 achieved for Francis Wheatley's The Reconciliation. Several Aloysius O'Kellys sold well for between £3,000 and £5,500, the latter price achieved for his Fishing Fleet Concarneau.

Other notable results include Colin Hunter's view of the Connemara coast which fetched £4,100 and Edwin Hayes's Stormy Seas Near Howth, which was knocked down at £31,000.

Percy French's watercolours proved as popular as ever: a sunset in Connemara made a strong £2,050 while a smaller bogland scene sold for £1,650. A sketchbook of the artist's pen and ink drawings fetched £2,000.

Maurice Wilks's landscape of the coast near Carlingford sold for £2,250 and Peter Collis's view of the Vico Road to the Killiney monument made £1,020.

Strong competition in silver sale

The trade faced strong competition from private buyers at James Adam's recent silver sale where most of the lots sold for well in excess of the catalogue estimates.

This was a particularly good sale with a fine collection of Cork silver as its centrepiece. Surprisingly, two of the best lots in the sale did not sell under the hammer - Carden Terry's plain circular bowl which had been expected to make up to £8,000 and a John Williams bread basket which carried a top estimate of £10,000. A beautiful Dublin made Georgian coffee jug, estimate £3,000 to £5,000 sold after auction for £4,400.

While the bowl and bread basket are undoubtedly superb pieces it may be, as James O'Halloran of Adams suggests, that people are not yet ready to spend substantial sums on larger items of silver, preferring to buy smaller pieces that can be used and display on dining tables.

This was borne out by the very strong prices achieved for spoons, ladles, plates and jugs, many of which sold for three and four times their estimates.

Among the most expensive lots a set of 12 George II Irish soup plates fetched £5,200; a George III dish ring, lot 128, sold for £3,700; a set of eight Georgian silver dinner plates, £3,400; a set of four George III Dublin silver wine coasters £3,100; a rare pair of Queen Anne Irish communion cups, £2,300.

Forthcoming Fairs

Farewell to arms

Flintlock muskets, Japanese swords and a variety of militaria will be among the items on sale at the Dublin Castle Antiques and Collectables Fair tomorrow. The fair will also feature more than 200 specialist reference book titles covering antiques and other subjects at prices ranging from £2 to £100. Among the more sought after books on offer is The Fiddler Fanciers Guide by Jim Fleming, 1892 and Early Keyboard Instruments, by Philip James, published in 1932.

Silver on offer includes candlesticks made in Co Cork and a selection of 18th century silverware and flatware. Other items include china, linen, lace, Victorian and Edwardian gold and silver jewellery, old toys and advertising.

The fair, which is being held in the Old Coach House opens at 10.30 a.m.

Plenty of time to lounge around

There will be an antiques and Collectables Fair tomorrow at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire. Among the 40 or so dealers taking part Johnstone Antique will have an interesting range of 18th and 19th century furniture including an Irish Regency sofa table and an unusual gondola chaise longue. Among the items for sale on other stands will be a Beswick figure of Arkle and a rare set of bog maps of Ireland dating from 1811. Opening hours are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

And the winner is

The winner of the antique chair competition run in association with the Irish Antiques Dealers Fair was: Mrs B. Harrison 34 St Alphonsus Road, Dublin 9.

Forthcoming Auctions

Playing cards close to chest

A pair of early 19th century inlaid rosewood card tables is among the most interesting lots at Woodwards sale in Cork next Wednesday.

Tom Woodward is reluctant to give an estimate on the tables, which he describes as "extremely rare and valuable". They came from a private house in Glanmire along with some of the other prime items in this sale.

A fine Georgian bureau bookcase is expected to fetch around £10,000, while a 19th century breakfront sideboard carries an estimate of £3,000 to £4,000. An attractive oval gilt girandole mirror is estimated at around £2,000. A good Cork mahogany serving table made by O'Connells - Cork's answer to Hicks - is expected to make up to £1,000.

A Victorian cheval mirror is estimate at £700 to £800, as is a pair of 20th century American serpentine tallboys.

Viewing begins on Monday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Valuable collection on sale at O'Reillys

A valuable collection of Victorian jewellery will be sold at O'Reillys next Wednesday. The most expensive pieces include a step cut 4ct solitaire diamond ring with baguette shoulders (£16,000 to £18,000); a bracelet set with brilliant, marquise and baguette diamonds (£8,000 to £9,000) and a 2.5 ct solitaire diamond ring (£5,000 to £6,000).

Jewellery belonging to the late Bean Ui Dhalaigh, widow of the late president Cearbhaill Ui Dhalaigh will also be sold on the day, the most notable pieces being a Victorian stone set brooch and matching pendant (£650 to £700); a gold bangle set with opals and diamonds (£500 to £600) and a Victorian gold carbuncle link bracelet (£800 to £1,000).

The silver section of the sale includes condiments, cutlery, candlesticks and some good photo frames.

Bookcase to take pride of place

A good Victorian mahogany three-door bookcase is one of the most interesting lots in Town & Country's sale tomorrow at its rooms on Lwr Ormond Quay. The bookcase, which carries an estimate of £2,500 to £2,800, is part of a collection of furniture and household goods that have been in storage for a number of years in Wexford.

Other lots include a set of six Victorian scroll-back dining chairs, £1,000 to £1,200, and a Georgian style bureau bookcase, £1,400 to £1,800 as well as several chests, dining tables and chiffoniers. Viewing is today from 10 a.m. The sale kicks off tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Noddy an investment with bells on

Noddy and Big Ears may be considered politically incorrect as childrens' literature but they could well prove a good investment. Sotheby's is set to auction a sale at the end of the month of the original artwork used to accompany Enid Blyton's stories of the goings-on in Toytown.

Noddy and his friends were brought to life through the illustrations of a Dutch artist Harmsen Van Der Beek. His original ideas for the Toytown characters are still used today. Since the Noddy books first appeared in 1949 they have sold 200 million copies worldwide.

The collection of artwork dates from the late 1940s to the present day and it is being sold by the Enid Blyton Company, which is now owned by the entertainment group Trocadero plc.

Estimates for the pictures in the sale - which include some of the more controversial figures like the golliwogs, Mr and Mrs Tubby and, of course, PC Plod, range from £60 to £1,500. The collection is expected to make around £200,000.