A dazzling collection of diamonds for auction

A private collection of Victorian jewellery which has been carefully assembled during the past 50 years is to be dispersed next…

A private collection of Victorian jewellery which has been carefully assembled during the past 50 years is to be dispersed next Wednesday at O'Reilly's of Upper Exchange Street, Dublin. Starting at 1 p.m., the auction also includes items from a country estate, several charitable institutions and other private sources. The wealth of jewellery includes such pieces as a solitaire diamond ring of more than two carats (estimate, £5,500-£6,500) and a Victorian cushion diamond solitaire ring of 2.10 carats (£3,500-£4,000). The latter estimate is also carried by a Cartier lady's 18 carat gold wrist watch, while a Victorian fivestone, half-hoop diamond ring of approximately three carats is expected to sell for £3,000£4,000.

Other estimates include: £1,500-£2,000 for a Victorian diamond spray brooch, £800£1,200 for a diamond and sapphire spray brooch, £900£1,000 for a five-stone diamond ring and £1,400£1,600 for a gentleman's 14 carat Omega De Vile wrist watch. Of other items, there are a George IV Irish silver salver dating from 1820, and presented by the Archbishop of Dublin of the time (£1,200£1,500), and a 1909 silver punch bowl (£200£300). The auction also offers carriage clocks, a canteen of silver cutlery, mother of pearl canteens, four-piece tea and coffee services, commemorative plates and miscellaneous other collectables.

Forthcoming Auctions.George IV dining chairs for £6,000-plus in Cavan

Town & Country Auctioneers is holding a house contents sale from 2 p.m. this afternoon on the premises of Lismore House, Crossdoney, Co Cavan. The top estimate of £6,000£7,000 is for a set of 12 George IV mahogany dining chairs, while a pair of American redwood, carved armchairs is expected to sell for £4,000-£7,000. A William IV mahogany extension dining table carries a pre-sale estimate of £3,000£4,000, a Victorian walnut credenza is expected to sell for £2,800-£3,000, a William IV cellaret is estimated at £1,400-£1,600 and a Victorian walnut centre table at £1,200£1,500. Paintings include work by George Gillespie and Charles McAuley.

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Forthcoming Auctions.Blackrock sale offers furniture for bedroom

Hamilton Osborne King will be conducting a clearance auction in the company's Blackrock, Dublin, salesrooms next Wednesday from 2.30 p.m. The majority of items consists of bedroom furniture, such as 12 wardrobes, all of them produced by Dublin maker J. Byrne & Sons of South Anne Street. Removed from Atkinson House, a home for the elderly in Dublin, they are being sold in pairs. Other bedroom lots cover dressing tables, bedside commodes and a brass bed, as well as sofas, tables, sets of chairs and chests of drawers.

Specific lots include a mid-19th century dumb waiter with gallery tray, the bottom fitted with a pair of doors on short legs; it is expected to sell for £600-£800. An art nouveau-style mahogany-framed drawing room suite from the turn of the century has an estimate of £1,000£1,500, a mid-19th century mahogany extending dining table by Jones & Co of Dublin is expected to sell for £1,000£1,500 and two bobbin-turned library armchairs by Strahan of Dublin have an estimate of £250£400 each.

Forthcoming Auctions.Up to £7,000 expected for breakfront bookcase

July's furniture and fine art sale at Drums of Malahide, Co Dublin, takes place next Thursday evening, starting at 7 p.m. The best seller of this auction is likely to be a large mahogany, four-door breakfront bookcase with stepped pediment. Measuring 12ft 6in long and 8ft high, it has an estimate of £5,000£7,000.

The sale also includes a house clearance from a property in Terenure. Among the lots here are a seven-piece drawingroom suite, upholstered in green damask, and a Honduras mahogany, circular William IV diningroom table. These both carry the same estimate of £800£1,200, as does a Victorian arch-top wardrobe.

A brush-side four-door Victorian pedestal sideboard is expected to make £400 £600.

Forthcoming Auctions.Furniture and library of over 3,00 books on offer

IPM Estates of Sligo is selling the house contents of Stourton, Mullaghmore, next Saturday, including a wealth of good brown furniture, such as a pair of mahogany hall benches by Hicks, a William IV mahogany, bracket clock and a George III-style mahogany long seat.

Many of these pieces originally came from Stourton Hall in Lincolnshire, where the former owner was born. In addition, the auctioneers will be disposing of a substantial library of over 3,000 books collected by the late Gerard Livesey of Trinity College, Cambridge.

English literature and poetry is well represented, with many complete sets of work and fine bindings. There are also oils and watercolours by Miles Birket Foster, Douglas Alexander and James Humbert Craig among others.

Auction Results.Chinese lacquer fubako is sold for £1,400

Thomas P Adams of Blackrock, Dublin, reports keen bidding for examples of Chinese and English ceramics at the company's recent auction, where a Chinese black lacquer fubako with gilt-metal floral mounts sold for £1,400. A set of five Royal Worcester coffee cups and six matching saucers painted with various birds made £740.

Among glassware an early commemorative glass, etched and engraved "Boyne 1690", fetched £540. The furniture lots included a Victorian three-door bookcase with carved glazed doors, which went for £2,300; an early 20th century Chippendale-style D-end dining table, with two extra leaves, sold for £2,000; a 19th century six-piece salon suite, comprising two carvers and three single chairs, realised £1,850; a set of six Victorian mahogany carved dining chairs fetched £1,100; and both a Victorian rosewood chiffonier and a Georgian mahogany gentleman's washstand made £860.

A Heriz carpet, measuring circa 14ft by 12ft, made £1,450 and a pair of 19th century English landscapes went under the hammer for £520.

Antiques Fairs.Furniture, silver and paintings at Kilkenny

The annual Kilkenny antiques and collectables fair will be held tomorrow at the Newpark Hotel, running from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The organisers say they have not accepted any reproduction or poor quality items for inclusion in the event, which is to feature some 35 stands and more than 40 dealers from around the Republic. A wide variety of pieces will be on offer, such as furniture, jewellery, coins and stamps, silver, porcelain and china, linen and lace, paintings, prints, militaria and curios.

Antiques FairsIrish and English silver for the table on offer

A range of early Irish and English silver tableware and cutlery, as well as Regency and Victorian silver teapots and coffee sets, will be among the items for sale at the Dublin Castle Antiques and Collectables Fair tomorrow. There will also be a large selection of framed and unframed prints, lithographs, signed oils and water colours. This fair will also feature a wide selection of militaria, including muskets, pistols and swords and uniforms. Other items on offer include gold and silver Victorian and Edwardian jewellery, linen, lace, china, dolls, toys and coins and stamps from around the world. The fair, which opens at 10.30 a.m., is being held in Dublin Castle's Old Coach House.

Antiques FairsAntiques, crafts and books at Wicklow event

The next antiques, crafts and books fair for the south-eastern counties takes place tomorrow week in the Grand Hotel, Wicklow, starting at 11 a.m. This will coincide with the opening weekend of the Wicklow Regatta Festival, one of the country's oldest festivals and now in its 105th year. A large number of dealers have already booked stands for the occasion, and further information is available by telephoning 0404-61275.

PublicationPortrait of artists as exhibitors

Art historians are certain to be indebted to Ann Stewart, who has just produced an impressively comprehensive index of exhibitors at Irish art societies and sketching clubs from 1870 to 1980. Librarian of the National Gallery of Ireland, Ms Stewart is also author of Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts: Index of Exhibitors, 1826-1979; Irish Art Loans, 1765-1927; and 50 Irish Portraits.

This new work will complement her other books, as well as prove of enormous assistance to anyone researching individual Irish artists during the period she covers. In her introductory note, Ms Stewart points out that while a succession of local art societies and clubs were founded in the last decades of the 19th century, not all of them produced catalogues of their annual exhibitions. Only those organisations which produced substantial runs of traceable catalogues have therefore been included in this two-volume listing.

Some 16 such societies are covered, running from familiar names from the recent past, including the Oireachtas Art Exhibition and the Independent Artists, to long defunct groups, including Belfast Ramblers' Club and the Irish Amateur Drawing Society. Entries are given alphabetically by artist and list where possible the exhibitor's address at the time, the title of the work, its catalogue number and price, plus the medium used.

Irish Art Societies and Sketching Clubs Index of Exhibitors, 1870-1980, by Ann M. Stewart is published by Four Courts Press. Price: £125 for two volumes.

A George IV silver salver, made by William Nowlan in Dublin around 1820. The item is engraved with the coat of arms of the Carroll family and bears the inscription, "A Token of Esteem and Regard from the Archbishop of Dublin and Mrs Whately to William Hales Carroll Esq". The salver, which has an estimate of £1,200/£1,500, is one of the lots in the O'Reilly's sale in Dublin next Wednesday

A four-door mahogany, breakfront bookcase with stepped pediment has an estimate of £5,000/£7,000 for the Drums auction next Thursday