End of year auctions put super selection in the frame

Auction houses would normally have wrapped up the action for the year at this stage but in 2020 it's a different story

This Still Life with terracotta objects and gourds by Stuart Morle is at Whyte's Christmas sale next week 

THE rush of end-of-year auctions that will continue unabated next week underlines how 2020 is different. 

Auction houses would have more or less wrapped up at this stage in a normal year and a small amount of online activity might have been recorded.

The build-up this year is partly due to lockdowns and postponed sales. It is not all bad news. All sales are online. 

An Irish Georgian brass bound plate bucket at Marshs today. 

This accessibility to everyone from the comfort of their own home has brought new audiences and new buyers. The range on offer is extraordinary in all price points.

In Cork, Marshs will hold their first-ever online auction today and Hegarty's will have a Christmas sale in Bandon tomorrow. 

A freestanding cocktail cabinet by Zelouf and Bell at James Adam. 

Mullen's of Laurel Park, Bray, will hold a Classic and Contemporary Interiors sale on Monday (December 14). There will be a Mid-Century Modern sale at James Adam in Dublin next Tuesday (December 15) and a timed and timely online offering of wines and spirits runs until Wednesday at Adams. 

There will be a Christmas sale of art and collectibles at Whytes on December 14 and an auction by O'Donovan's of Newcastlewest, Co Limerick, today. This list is by no means entirely comprehensive.

Brown furniture represents very good value as exemplified by a Georgian bow fronted sideboard with an estimate of just €250-€300 and a mahogany D-end two pod dining table with an extra leaf (€350-€450) both at Marshs today. Among the top lots in this sale are a set of Cork 11-bar dining chairs (€3,000-€4,000), a Victorian burr walnut credenza €3,000-€4,000), a Georgian chest on chest with dentil frieze (€1,200-€1,500) and an Anglo-Indian games table (€1,200-€1,500).

All sorts of affordable collectibles, from a Victorian cranberry glass jug to coins, banknotes, porcelain and even an old railway lamp are of offer at O'Donovan's in Co Limerick today.

An Adams style 18th-century Irish silver coffee pot at Hegarty's tomorrow. 

A diamond solitaire €4,100-€4,300), an Irish 18th-century silver coffee pot (€2,400-€2,800), a 19th-century silver and glass claret jug (€1,100-€1,300), a miniature porcelain panel after Raphael (€500-€600) and an Edwardian style diamond bow pendant (€850-€950) are among the highlights at Hegarty's online Christmas sale tomorrow. There are 400 lots including fine art, furniture and collectibles.

The Stony Fields of Kerry by Paul Henry at Whyte's.

An online-only auction at Whyte's from December 11-16 offers a super selection of art, silver, sculpture and wine. There are paintings and prints by Louis le Brocquy, Patrick Scott, Cecil King, Pauline Bewick, Gladys Maccabe, Damien Hirst, Sean Scully and many more. There is a collection of silverware by the late master silversmith Padraig O Mathuna (1925-2019) who had a silver shop in Cashel for many years.

A luxurious four seasons cocktail cabinet by the renowned Irish studio makers Zelouf and Bell, currently exhibiting at Maison Gerard in New York, is among the top lots at the James Adam Mid Century Modern sale. It is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. It is up to you....