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PAIR OF ENGRAVED LIMERICK SILVER SERVING SPOONS
This pair of engraved Limerick silver serving spoons from 1775 are at the online furniture auction by Adams Blackrock on May 20. Made by Maurice Fitzgerald they are estimated at €3,500-€4,500. The Dublin auctioneers will hold timed online sales of furniture, collectibles, jewellery, watches and Irish paintings on May 20.
Largely unrecognised during his lifetime the influence of poet, painter and printmaker William Blake resonates to this day. Wordsworth thought Blake mad in a way that was more interesting than the sanity of Lord Byron or Walter Scott. In 1893 Yeats, who drew on him for inspiration, edited an edition of his collected works. His influence on the Beat poets of the 1950’s, the counterculture of the 1960’s, musicians like Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, U2 and Van Morrisson, film makers like Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott and writers like J.G. Ballard and Philip Pullman, is enormous. William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy at the National Gallery in Dublin until July 19, presents a selection of his most iconic works of art along with paintings and drawings by his contemporaries. The loan exhibition from Tate offers a rare opportunity in Ireland to encounter one of the most visionary and wildly unconventional figures in art and literature whose inventive works resonated far beyond his own era. Pictured here is The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve. Photo: Tate.
William Van Der Hagen – A Harbour scene and a Coastal scene both dated 1838
Dutch born artist William Van der Hagen, who settled in Ireland in 1722, is regarded as the founder of the Irish school of landscape painting. He visited earlier because his View of Drogheda, now at the Highlanes Gallery, dates to 1718. “Corke Harbour” dates to 1738 and is the earliest surviving oil painting of the harbour. Sold at Woodwards in 2004 for €360,000 it remains in a private collection.
A pair of oil panels by Van der Hagen will lead the Irish Old Masters sale at Adam’s in Dublin on May 14. The estimate for A Harbour Scene, Men-of-War Anchored in a Calm Sea with Fishermen beside a Tower and A Coastal Scene with Ships in Heavy Seas off a Rocky Coast is €25,000-€35,000. A catalogue note points to the fact that these small works share both the European tradition and the nascent Irish landscape school with whose genesis the artist is so closely linked.
A set of 13 canvas wall hangings painted by Van der Hagen designed to transform the walls at Dublin Castle into an Italian fantasy complete with garden follies, palaces and landscapes ahead of a grand ball will soon be displayed at the State Apartments in Dublin Castle. They were acquired by the OPW after being re-discovered under layers of wallpaper during alterations at Knole, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Dorset in Kent.
A Prospect of Kinsale after Charles Smith (1715-1762) published c1750
There are 61 lots at Adam’s Irish Old Masters sale which kicks off with a 25 strong set of James Malton’s Picturesque and Descriptive Views of the City of Dublin (€5,000-€7,000). A set of 12 coloured engravings of the built glories of Georgian Dublin after Samuel Brocas is estimated at €3,000-€5,000.
A set of three coloured lithographs of Cork rivers after Henry Morgan printed and published in Exeter in 1849 estimated at €300-€500 would enhance any local collection as would A Prospect of Kinsale taken from Ye Old Fort after Charles Smith (1715-762) published in Dublin c1750 (€500-€700). These are among a number of topographical works from around Ireland in the sale.
Charles Lewis (1753-1795) – A Still life of Peaches, Plums and Figs
A painting of peaches, plums and figs in a silver bowl by Charles Lewis dated 1788 is a rare survivor of still life painting from Georgian Dublin. Born in Gloucester Lewis moved to Dublin in 1776 and his art, though little known today, was much admired by his contemporaries and circulated widely in the 19th century.
Maria Spilsbury Taylor (1776-1820) was the most significant female artist to work in 19th century Ireland. She is represented by an oil on canvas titled Family Group: A Mother with her Children Dancing and Playing the Tambourine. It carries an estimate of €3,000-€5,000. Market Day, Derryvarragh, Co. Westmeath by Erskine Nicol is signed and dated 1857 and estimated at €5,000-€7,000.
Thomas Hickey (1741-1824) – an 1801 drawing of Sir Barry Close.
In an auction with landscapes, seascapes, genre scenes and topographical views there is only one portrait, a charcoal, pastel and pencil drawing by Thomas Hickey (1741-1824). The subject is Sir Barry Close (1756-1813), the Armagh born British East India Company army officer and diplomat who played a crucial role in expanding British power in India. A skilled linguist he played a pivotal role in the Mysore campaigns against Tipu Sultan. A dress sword set with diamonds in 18 carat gold presented to Close made a hammer price of €280,000 at Adam’s Townley Hall sale last October. The Irish Old Masters auction is now on view at Adams
Rare 1860’s Irish oak harp clock by John Donegan
An unusual and very Irish oak harp clock by the Dublin maker John Donegan from the 1860’s is the prime lot at R.J. Keighery’s clock auction in Waterford on May 13. Only eight of these clocks are known. This is the first to be sold at auction. It measures nine feet tall and is brimful of detail like harps, pikes, a wolfound, two round towers and a lyre. The base depicts the Giant’s Causeway and the hood is in the shape of a harp. It is estimated at €6,000-€9,000. John Donegan is known as the last of the Irish watchmakers.
The auction offers 345 watches and clocks from four lifetime collectors along with associated furniture lots. There are longcase clocks, wall clocks, carriage clocks, marble mantle clocks, barometers and watch arts. A brass dial longcase clock by William Maddock of Waterford made in 1766 is estimated at €1,800-€2,200. A large ormolu and boulle clock has an estimate of €1,250-€1,450.
A selection of longcase clocks at Keighery’s sale
Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915-1980) – Portrait of Eva Hempel
This portrait at Whyte’s auction of important Irish art in Dublin on May 25 stirs up memories of another deeply troubled time in world affairs. The subject of Patrick Hennessy’s portrait, Eva Hempel, was wife of Hitler’s envoy in Dublin Dr. Eduard Hempel. Though not at the time a member of the Nazi party the career diplomat was appointed as ‘Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the German Reich’ in Dublin by Adolf Hitler in 1937. He was pressured to join the Nazi Party in 1938 and continued to represent the Third Reich in Ireland until 1945. Dr Hempel commissioned portraits of each of his family members by the then emerging Cork artist Patrick Hennessy. The portraits were made at Dr Hempel’s official residence on Sloperton Road, Dún Laoghaire and it was to this address that then Taoiseach Éamon de Valera famously called to express the Free State’s condolences following Hitler’s death in 1945. The house was destroyed in an arson attack in the early 1950’s and the remains demolished in 1955.
After the War, Dr Hempel resigned his diplomatic post and the family was granted asylum in Ireland. He was not allowed to work and Eva supported the family by running a confectionary and bakery. Berthold, one of their sons died in Dublin in 1948 from a brain tumour. The family returned to Germany in 1950 where Hempel helped set up a diplomatic service for the new Federal Republic. The portrait remained in the collection of the Hempel family. It was last sold at the estate sale of their collection in Munich in 1994 and has been in a private collection. Lot 38 is estimated at €4,000-6,000. Whyte’s sale will offer 132 lots of Irish art with an overall value of €1.4 million.
KASHMIR. A VERY RARE SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND CLUSTER RING, CIRCA 1890-1900
This Kashmir sapphire ring is at Adam’s sale of fine jewellery and ladies watches on May 12. The estimate is €50,000-90,000. It is accompanied by a report dated December 2025 from the SSEF laboratory in Switzerland, stating that the antique cushion-shaped sapphire weighing 3.532 carats is of Kashmir origin with no indications of heating. Kashmir sapphires hold a unique place in the world of gemstones and are distinguished by their colour and velvety appearance. The catalogue for the sale is online. Adam’s will not allow internet bidding on this lot.
Simon Hayes – Sky in the Ground
Sky in the Ground by Simon Hayes is lot 20 in Gormley’s timed online sculpture sale which runs until May 12. Made of powder coated stainless steel it is estimated at €900-€1,100. The auction, with 113 lots, features the sculpture collection of Simon Hayes, offered alongside works from several prominent private collections. The catalogue is online and sculptures can be viewed at Dunmurraghill, Dondea, W91 C3F6, Co. Kildare from May 8-12.
PAIR OF ITALIAN SCHOOL PORTRAITS
This pair or late 17th/early 18th century Italian portraits made €73,000 at Fonsie Mealy’s fine art and antique sale. With a provenance to the Ponsonby’s of Ballynatray, Waterford the oils on canvas depict classical female saints. A c1630 painting of an angel and the dead Christ at candlelight from the Circle of Triomphe Bigot made €19,000 and a Madonna and Child with the infant St. John the Baptist by Raffaellino del Garbo (1466-1524) made €13,000. An early 20th century Fabergé circular pill box made €15,000.
The Meeting of Dante and Virgil, 1546–49. Wool, silk, tapestry weave. Courtesy of Mia.
The only early Medicean tapestry in a public collection outside Italy is to be restored. The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is recipient of the 2026 Museum Restoration Fund from The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF). Joint support from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project will enable the conservation of The Meeting of Dante and Virgil, a monumental 16th-century Italian tapestry of exceptional rarity and importance.
Established in 2012, the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund supports the conservation and related scholarly research of significant works held in public collections. This year marks the first time the fund has supported the treatment of a tapestry. Mia holds one of the most distinguished tapestry collections in the United States, with 41 works. The Meeting of Dante and Virgil is among the most significant Renaissance works in Mia’s collection and is considered the most important Italian Renaissance tapestry in the United States. The tapestry measures 5.3 meters, which is equivalent to 17.4 feet.
The Florentine workshop that produced the tapestry was founded in 1545 by Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, who sought to rival the celebrated weaving centers of Brussels. He recruited Jan Rost, a master weaver from Brussels, to establish and oversee production. The tapestry’s design and cartoons were created by the painter Francesco Salviati (1510–1563) between 1546 and 1548, and the work was woven between 1547 and 1549 during the formative years of Medici tapestry production.
TEFAF New York runs from May 15-19 at the Park Avenue Armory.
Richard Gorman – Stone Lithograph AP
This Stone Lithograph by Richard Gorman, an artist’s print from an edition of 40, is at the May Contemporary Curated online art auction by Lismore based Lot 100 with an estimate of €600-800. The auction offers art by Irish Australian artist John Kelly, Pauline Bewick, Julianne Guinee, Louis le Brocquy, Katherine Boucher Beug, Peter Murray, Felim Egan, Charles Tyrrell and two screenprints by Andy Warhol of Marilyn Monroe among a selection of 93 lots. The auction is live online until May 12.
