In The
Salerooms: A Roger Casement bust and oil painting of Vesuvius eruption

An unrecorded bronze bust of Roger Casement (48cm high) was recently discovered in a house in Cork. Casement was a diplomat and patriot, executed by the British for treason during the First World War. Always a controversial figure, he’s now seen as an LGBTQ+ hero.

The bust is coming up for auction in Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth Summer Sale, which takes place on July 10 at 2pm.

“It’s the kind of thing that could easily have slipped through the cracks,” says George Fonsie Mealy. “It had belonged to the vendor’s great aunt who kept it in the porch window. It was so neglected it had gone green!” Although the work is unsigned, it’s attributed to Marshall C. Hutson (1903-2001), who worked as vice-principal of the Crawford School of Art in Cork from 1930 to 1962.

Other works of interest in the sale include a dramatic oil painting of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius c. 1825, by William Sadler II (c.1782-1839) (Lot 234: est. €3,000 to €4,000) and Building Sandcastles (Lot 391: est. €1,000 to €1,500) by Louise Mansfield (1950-2018). It shows a young girl on a beach, with bucket, looking out a stormy summer sea. See fonsiemealy.ie.

​Sheppard’s

The contents of St Austin’s, Coolgreaney, Gorey, Co Wexford will be on view on the premises on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday 14, prior to their auction at Sheppard’s on Tuesday, July 16 and Wednesday 17. The house belonged to a couple who had lived in the Far East and contains an eclectic collection of Irish, European and Oriental art, furniture, early Irish cartography, wines, whiskeys and collectibles. See sheppards.ie.