Adam's

By the 1950s, as the global economic landscape improved, luxury was making a comeback and so too was the prolific use of diamonds in the jewellery of France’s premier ateliers.

“It was a great deal of work,” said Adam’s (20% buyer’s premium) managing director James O’Halloran of the operation involving the removal of 700 lots – including the ‘Armada Table’ and other massive pieces – to the Drogheda stately home venue of Townley Hall for sale.

Representing just a fraction of the international art market and often overshadowed by the demand for 2D art, Irish sculpture has undergone a quieter recovery.

While demand is encouraging, a scarcity of high-quality work is hitting the supply side

These outsize tongs, below, proved the major surprise at Adam’s (20% buyer’s premium) in Dublin on June 17.

Irish silver was popular at Adam’s (20% buyer’s premium) in June – see ATG next week – and Irish furniture did well enough, with a c.1830 serpentine side table with marble-and-malachite top getting away at €8000 (£7000).

John Magnier, the Irish horse breeder and art collector, reportedly made a five-fold return on his Amadeo Modigliani reclining nude when it sold at Sotheby’s New York last month for $139m (£102.2m).

Though their output was dwarfed by their male counterparts, talented 20th century Irish female artists pack a punch in the saleroom when their art does appear at auction.

A look at the latest saleroom appointments, including Roseberys appointing a former director and works of art specialist at Christie’s.

Since the Celtic Tiger’s demise a decade ago and the tailspin that ensued, the Irish art market has evolved into a more cautious and less speculative beast. The latest round of sales held towards the end of September and into October showed steady (if not spectacular) demand, especially for the big, bankable names.

Adam’s mammoth annual Country House Collections auction is designed to cater to those with spacious, preferably period, abodes.

This focus on furniture kicks off with a royal link and three more cheers at summer sales for the furniture market which a number of auctioneers are saying shows modest signs of recovery.

A small vibrant work by Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957) from the collection of Irish art assembled by the late businesswoman Gillian Bowler topped Adam’s sale on May 31.

Dublin dealer sells an Irish selection as he hands the reins of the shop over to his son.

Estimated at £500-800, a small Old Master painting of Christ wearing the crown of thorns drew spectacular competition at Adam’s of Dublin on April 9. It came from an institution in the Irish capital which the saleroom said was “doing some spring cleaning”. It were given the pick of around 100 paintings.