CHATSWORTH SUMMER FINE ART SALE 18th & 19th June 2025

103 Fonsie Mealy’s Est. 1934 Fishing Party at Knockdrin Castle,”O.O.C., c. 1860, 147cms x 34cms (58” x 92). (1) An ambitious painting, depicting a fishing party by a lake, this work bears a faded label giving details of the location: the words ‘A Fishing Party, at . . Levinge’s estate, Knockdrin Castle c 1860’, being just about decipherable. Located six miles from Mullingar, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Knockdrin Castle was home to the Levinge family. A member of the judiciary, the first Sir Richard Levinge played an important role in post-Williamite Ireland, and purchased Knockdrin from the Tuite family. Around 1815, he rebuilt the castle as a large Gothic Revival country house, the gutters of which still bear the Levinge arms. Winston Churchill and his mother were among the many guests that stayed at Knockdrin over the years, participating in hunting parties for which the estate was famous. Although naif in style, this painting is an ambitious group portrait, depicting Sir Richard Levinge and his guests, and ghillies, enjoying in a fishing party. The lake depicted is probably Lough Drin, and the party may have been linked to the completion of a castellated gatehouse in 1860, Apart from a man and woman on horseback, all those present are either seated or standing. One ghillie has a net, while another holds up a fish to be inspected by a man, probably Levinge himself, who holds a split-cane fishing rod. Levinge is dressed in a light blue suit and yellow waistcoat, with a straw boater on the ground beside his feet. To his left, a man wearing a straw boater is lighting a pipe, while to the right, a third ghillie holds a long fishing rod. In the left foreground, six fashionably attired women are seated around a picnic table. Wearing colourful dresses and hats, they are eating and drinking, with one, wearing a yellow dress, holding out her glass to be filled. On the extreme right, a basket of fish is being emptied into a horse-drawn cart, while another fisherman pulls at a line in the water, probably a net. A large earthenware jug sits by the water’s edge. Probably organized to entertain distinguished visitors, the fishing party was clearly a significant event in the estate calendar, so much so that it was considered worthy of recording in a painting. It is a valuable record of society in Ireland in Victorian times. The identity of the artist is not known, but it is likely by an amateur painter, who was seeking to emulate the hunting scenes of well-known artists such as William Osborne. Dr. Peter Murray 2025 €1500 - €2000 836. An extremely fine specimen of Cervus Giganteus Hibernicus, or Gigantic Irish Deer. A very fine pair of enormous fossilized Irish Elk Horns and Skull, the horns with 14 points and spanning 98” (8’2”) 249cms, some pints replaced, restored or lacking. Ex. Scare. (1) Provenance: By repute from the owner’s family, found in the Bog of Allen. €10,000 - €15,000 841. 19th Century Irish School