This bronze death mask of the executed Irish Republican and rebel leader Robert Emmet (1778-1803) above was made from the original taken by the portrait miniaturist and antiques dealer James Petrie (d.1819).
Petrie is said to have inveigled his way into Kilmainham jail in Dublin shortly after Emmet’s execution.
The mask is estimated at €800-1200 in Whyte’s Eclectic Collector auction on April 6 in Dublin.
whytes.ie or see this item on thesaleroom.com
These Adidas rugby boots above were worn by Paul Thorburn when he made a record long-distance penalty kick during a 1986 match between Wales and Scotland.
The Welsh kicker booted the ball from 70 yards 8½in against Scotland during the Five Nations game at Cardiff Arms Park. It remains the longest successful kick in an international test match.
Thorburn has consigned the boots, and a copy of Western Mail’s printing block graphic illustrating the successful strike, to Mullock’s 600-lot sale of rugby memorabilia held at Wales’ Principality Stadium in Cardiff on March 28.
Proceeds from the lot will go towards The Doddie Weir’5 Discretionary Trust.
Estimate £500-750.
mullocksauctions.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
Sussex auction house Bellmans will hold its first specialist sale of studio pottery on April 4. The auction will comprise more than 100 lots including this 20in (50cm) porcelain dish by Derek Davis (1926-2008) estimated at £1200-1400.
Davis studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in the late 1940s and together with fellow student Eric Mellon formed the Hillsden Group. By the late 1970s, he was concentrating on hand-built pieces decorated with themes of social commentary. This ‘Divers’ dish dates from 1989.
An original drawing by the Japanese artist Hokusai will be offered in a dedicated sale of Asian art at Cambridge auction house Cheffins on April 4.
The work, c.1805, is a preparatory study for an illustration to the Chinese novel, Water Margin, and depicts the hero of the story, Wu Song, fighting with the god Jiangmen.
Hokusai illustrated the Japanese translation of the novel in 1805 for the author Kyokutei Bakin and the book became a huge success during the Edo period.
The 7 x 10in (19 x 26cm) ink on paper bears a written inscription by Hokusai and comes from the UK-based collection of the late Stephen Keynes who acquired it from Anthony d’Offay Fine Art in 1967.
Estimate £1000-2000.
cheffins.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
