Blackamoors and bronzes: Eclectic offerings at auctions from Bray to Louth

Forthcoming Auctions:

Tomorrow, Sunday (November 5th) Matthew Auction Rooms, Oldcastle, Co Meath. Antiques & Interiors auction, 2pm, featuring more than 750 lots including Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian furniture, antiquarian books, silver, rugs, porcelain, jewellery, paintings and collectibles. Viewing today 11am-5pm. Catalogue at matthewsauctionrooms.com

Monday (November 6th) Mullen's Laurel Park, Woodbrook, Bray, Co Wicklow. Antiques auction, 11am, includes three lots of 19th-century Venetian painted wood "Blackamoor" figures.

In decorative arts, a Blackamoor is the term used for a sculpture depicting an exotic African servant, popular in wealthy European households in the 18th, early 19th century.

Lot 315, a pair of Blackamoors (male and female) €1,500-€2,000; Lot 316, a Blackamoor doing a hand-stand, €800-€1,200; Lot 317, a female Blackamoor, €1,000-€1,500. The auctioneer said the Blackamoor figures, had been bought in an antiques shop in Venice by friends of Princess Grace who had seen similar examples in the royal palace at Monaco; they have been consigned by the current owner who inherited them.

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From the same collection, Lot 332 is a pair of vintage Louis Vuitton suitcases, €1,000-€1,500. Viewing today and tomorrow, 10am-5pm. See mullenslaurelpark.com. Online bidding via the-saleroom.com

Tuesday (November 7th) John Weldon Auctioneers, Cows' Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin 8. Auction of jewellery, silver, gold and collectibles at 2pm. Viewing from noon today. A 20th-century Irish silver canteen of cutlery, made in Dublin in 1996, 12 place settings, total silver weight approx 7.5kg, in a fitted box €3,500-€4,500; a US $20 gold coin, 33.5g dated 1927, €800-€1,200; an RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) helmet with its original case, engraved Capt JP Sheehan, who was based in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, €1,500-€2,500.

Sunday (November 12th) Adam's, 26 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. "At Home" auction at 11.30 am. Viewing from Wednesday (November 8th). Featuring 500 lots including antique and decorative furniture, paintings, porcelain, mirrors, clocks and collectibles. Among them: Lot 5, a Georgian mahogany wine cooler (originally used to cool bottles of white wine in the dining room), €500-€800; Lot 38, a Victorian oil painting (one of many in the sale) Lady with parasol, with cat by feet by Victor Gilbert, €6,000-€10,000; Lot 87, an 18th-century "Chinese export" punch bowl (ie, Chinee porcelain made for the European market), provenance "Captain HCP Hamilton, Moyne, Durrow, Co Laois", €3,000-€5,000; Lot 102, a 19th-century Louis XVI-style walnut and ormolu-mounted writing desk or bureau plat, €3,000-€5,000; Lot 197, a 19th-century Italian painting Amorous Rivalry by Ernesto Torrini, €5,000-€8,000; Lot 232, a late 19th-century French "animalier" bronze – about 76cm high – Fawn, standing on a rocky base by the sculptor Arthur Jacques Le Duc (1848-1918) and cast at the foundry of Thiébaut Frères Fondeurs, Paris, €3,000-€5,000.

Sunday (November 12th) Lev Mitchell & Sons Auctioneers, antiques and collectibles auction at The Glebe House, Dowth, Drogheda, Co Louth at noon. Viewing begins on Friday (November 10th). An eclectic mix of 700 lots including an original turnstile from Lansdowne Road; original taps from the Cairnes Brewing Company (Drogheda); a parchment letter, dated 1845, from the governor of Texas to the US president; and, a "genuine letter from Buckingham Palace" signed by Princess (now Queen) Elizabeth at time of her wedding in 1947 which accompanied a food parcel sent to the unknown recipient as she distributed excess gifts of food she had received "from many kind friends overseas" at the time of her wedding in 1947.

Forthcoming Fairs:

Tomorrow, Sunday (November 5th) Antiques & Vintage Fair, River Court Hotel, Kilkenny, 11.30am-6pm. Antique and vintage silver, jewellery and collectables, along with vintage fashion and accessories, plus traditional antique furnishings for the home. Admission: €3.50

Tomorrow, Sunday (November 5th) The Kerry Art, Antiques & Vintage Fair, The Grand Hotel, Denny Street, Tralee, Co Kerry, 11am - 6pm.