On the treasure trail to Limerick, London, Cork and Geneva

The latter features works by Paul Henry, George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson, and Nano Reid, Jack Coulter, Richard Hearns, John Behan and Orla de Bri.

The National Antiques, Art & Vintage Fair at Limerick Racecourse opens from 11am to 6pm next Saturday, November 16, and on Sunday week.

There will be 80 dealers from around Ireland with everything from a pair of vases by Zak Scherzer of Vienna with paintings by Rembrandt at Edwin Mercer, vintage flagons, clocks and collectibles at Dan Hartnett and an exceptional George I coffee pot by Thomas Walker (Dublin 1726) which Weldon’s will display on November 17. Vintage fashion and jewellery are enduringly popular. Among the choices available are an eyecatching Philip Treacy-type hat at Eily Henry and a nine-carat yellow gold wide gate bracelet at Bedlam Antiques.

There is porcelain and glass at Brian Hurley, Irish art at the Purple Onion Gallery, militaria including the gorget of Lt Col Thomas Pepper of the Royal Meath Militia, and selections of antique furniture, jewellery, books, and collectibles to inspire and delight.

It is rare to encounter a set of jewels from the 1920s and 1930s which have remained in the same family and have not been remodelled. A magnificent Cartier art deco Indo-Persian diamond necklace from 1935 will highlight a collection of superb jewels from the Sassoon family at Christie’s in Geneva next Tuesday. 

The bank where they were stored was destroyed in the Second World War. A helpful policeman advised the owner at the ruins to check with a local police station. It transpired her deposit box had been transferred there. Never at auction before the necklace is estimated at €920,000-€1,380,000.

At Sotheby’s in Geneva on the following day, more than 100 pieces from Tsar Ferdinand and the Royal Court of Bulgaria will come under the hammer.

Sotheby’s will bring a great selection of Irish art to the international stage at sales in London next Thursday and Friday. The portrait of Mrs St George by Orpen featured on these pages last Saturday and a Venetian scene by Lavery will feature in the evening sale on Thursday.

A Cork collection of maritime paintings by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson and art and sculpture by Gareth Reid, Sky Portrait Artist of the Decade 2023, feature at the day sale next Friday. It will also feature work by Tony O’Malley, Rowan Gillespie, Patrick Hennessy, Felim Egan, John Kingerlee, William Conor, and others.