Jesus and the Louis Vuitto trunk: auction sales of the week

Sunday, April 9th

Adam’s, 26 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. Last weekend’s At Home auction hit the headlines when Lot 160, an apparently unremarkable religious painting (below), soared past its estimate of €500-€800 to make a hammer price of €120,000.

Contained in an ornate frame, measuring just 43cm by 24cm and executed in oil on a copper panel, the painting depicts Jesus wearing a crown of thorns. It had been attributed to the 19th-century Italian school and was sold by auctioneer James O’Halloran after a five-minute bidding war.

From the sacred to the unabashedly secular: Lot 230, a Louis Vuitton trunk bearing the original travel labels from the Cunard Line voyage from New York to Cobh in December 1966, also made almost double its estimate (€4,000- €6,000), selling for €11,000. The trunk's hinged interior opens to reveal six fitted drawers, a hanging compartment with original stamped hangers for jackets and trousers.

Other results from the sale, which included silverware, paintings, porcelain and furniture: Lot 273, Victorian mahogany rectangular extending dining table, €9,500 (€4,000-€6,000); Lot 168, A Warning to Sleeping Shepherds, by Johann Baptist Hofner, €4,700 (€3,000-€5,000); Lot 171, Mare and Foal, by John Frederick Herring Senior, €4,200 (€5,000-€7,000); Lot 241, eight framed mahogany dining chairs, €4,000 ( €2,000-€3,000 ); Lot 214, pair of Waterford cut-glass eight-branch chandeliers, €3,800 (€4,000-€6,000).

Also: Lot 350, carved and polychrome decorated timber armorial cresting of the American eagle above crossed flags, €3,200 (€700-€1,000); Lot 115, 19th-century French ormolu and bronze mounted mantel clock, €3,000 (€1,500-€2,000); Lot 202, pair of Chinese blue and white gourd-shaped vases with lids, €2,500 (€2,000-€4,000); Lot 110, carved ivory Qing dynasty basket with cover, €2,400 (€2,000-€3,000); Lot 330, Georgian-style mahogany pedestal desk, €2,300 (€800-€1,200); Lot 105, Japanese silver, ivory and lacquer tusk vase, Meiji period €1,800 (€1,500-€2000). See adams.ie

Monday, April 10th

Morgan O'Driscoll, Irish and International Art auction at RDS, Ballsbridge. The highest prices were achieved by Lot 60, Sailing Boat on a Loch (1916-17) by Paul Henry, €62,000 (€60,000-€80,000); Lot 24, The Park Pond by Frank McKelvey, €24,000 (€15,000- €20,000); and Lot 107, Torso by Louis le Brocquy, €24,000.

Other results: Lot 30, Jack the Lad by Basil Blackshaw, €18,000 (€15,000- €25,000); Lot 55, The Dark Pool by William Crozier, €16,000; Lot 85, The Dust Settles by Basil Blackshaw, €16,000 (€20,000-€30,000); Lot 86, 9.13.02 (2002) by Sean Scully, €16,000; Lot 28, Garage (2012) by Donald Teskey, €10,500; Lot 33, The Madeleine Flower Market, by Markey Robinson, €10,000; Lot 98, Turning for Home, by Liam O'Neill, €10,000; Lot 10, Salrock, Connemara, by James Humbert Craig, €6,000 (€5,000-€7,000). See morganodriscoll.com