Bonhams : A mid-19th century Irish arbutus and yew veneered and boxwood inlaid chess and backgammon board/box

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Lot 186

A mid-19th century Irish arbutus and yew veneered and boxwood inlaid chess and backgammon board/box

Sold for £ 660 (US$ 814) inc. premium

Pictures, including Maps, Furniture & Works of Art, including Chess, and a Private Collection of 18th Century Shoe Buckles

26 Feb 2008, 11:00 GMT

Knowle

A mid-19th century Irish arbutus and yew veneered and boxwood inlaid chess and backgammon board/box

The exterior with a chequered border around the squares, the outer border decorated with clover and fern in each corner and at the centre of one end an oval medallion depicting Muckross Abbey and at the other ruins, the interior decorated with boxwood and arbutus points and two central medallions inlaid with a harp and clover, old damage around one hinge, s.d., 45cm wide.

Footnotes

See illustration

Wood from the arbutus or strawberry tree was exploited from the 1830s in the production of Irish furniture and treen. This tree flourished in South-West Ireland, where the mild and damp conditions better suited this tree of Mediterranean origin.

The centre for marquetry wares incorporating arbutus was Killarney, but by 1860 the burgeoning industry extended beyond the Killarney area. However, it exhibits many Killarney-type characteristics, including the oval framed view of Muckross Abbey, a tourist attraction near Killarney. Other local sites represented on Killarney ware include Ross Castle, Glena Cottage, Innisfallen, Dunloe Castle and Killarney House. These parquetry images were inspired by engravings published in guide books at the time. Other motifs typical of Killarney ware, such as shamrock, ferns and harps are also employed in the decoration on this board/box.

Jeremiah O'Connor of Killarney was one of the greatest exponents of Killarney marquetry ware, but similar work was produced in Dublin and Cork as well.

Austen (B.): Tunbridge Ware. Ch. 13, p178, W. Foulsham & Co., 1992.

See Lot 35, Phillips' sale on 14th November 1991 for a similar example

A mid-19th century Irish arbutus and yew veneered and boxwood inlaid chess and backgammon board/box

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Buyer's Premium Rates
27.5% on the first £20,000 of the hammer price;
26% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of £20,000 up to and including £700,000;
20% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of £700,000 up to and including £4,500,000;
and 14.5% of the hammer price of any amounts in excess of £4,500,000.

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