Collectors' Focus
Ireland’s decorative arts have always had a devoted following among collectors but increasingly you need ‘the luck of the Irish’ to find the best, writes .
Isabel Andrews, Monday, 25th August 2008
For example, at the sale of the collection of John Bailey, founder of the Glass Society of Ireland, in 2000 – which all the market attended for the quality of its 200 lots and the owner’s reputation – a Charlemont jug in this category raised over £10,000 for its historicist value. Jane Beattie points to an Adam’s sale last year that included among several lots of imitation Williamite memorial glass a claret glass engraved ‘The Glorious memory of King William & Bowyne 1st July 1690’; the glass was mid-18th century but the engraving was late 19th century. It fetched €900 against an estimate of €200-€300.
For collectors thinking about dipping their toe in the water, Peter Francis tips two areas set to boom. Firstly, items from the Newry glasshouse, whose existence was known but its works hard to identify until 2003, when a marked piece turned up. Having recently sold six pieces, Francis says, ‘It’s definitely an upcoming area.’ The second is the recent discovery of a retailer in Dublin with the mark ‘Jackson’ that closed in 1835. This new name will rapidly attract collectors in a field constantly invigorated by academic research.
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