CHATSWORTH FINE ART SALE April 29th, 30th & May 1st 2026

135 Fonsie Mealy’s Est. 1934 1279. Ethnographical: A 19th Century carved Sword Paddle, Maori, with bird head and geometric pattern handle, approx. 116cms. (1) €400 - €600 1280. A rare 19th Century Bamileke or Oku Tribal Mask, from the Western Grassfields Region of Cameroon, with leather headdress, nose and ear piercings’, with wide eyes, approx. 31cms (12) high. (1) €350 - €450 1281. An authentic Boruca, “Mexican” decorated with spikes, green paint, snake skin and elongated noses, approx. 61cms high (24”). (1) €180 - €220 1282. A rare pair of late 19th Century (c. 1880’s) Iroquois or Mohawk Moccasins, each beaded coloured pattern, with purple and red flaps, each approx. 26cms (10”). (2) Provenance: Private Irish Estate. €300 - €400 1283. A rare pair of early 19th Century Huron embroidered hide Moccasins, of narrow style composed of blackened buckskin, the vamps finely embroidered with a sprig of flowers in shades of orange, red, yellow, blue and green dyed mosasaur (Faded) with conforming decorated flaps, each approx. 24cms (9½”) long. (2) Provenance: Private Irish Estate. €800 - €1200 1284. A Marine Officer Uniform gilt fittings. This is a set of fittings for an inter-war period Royal Marine Officers Uniform jacket. This lot includes cap badges, collar dogs epaulette insignia and buttons alongside bullion and gilt braid, associated with a captain of marines. (1) €150 - €200 1279 1280 1283 1278. A bronze Age Sword , from the collection of the Earl of Dunraven. (1) Over the centuries, many swords dating back to the Bronze Age have been found in Ireland. Being made of bronze, they tend to survive, while more recent Iron Age swords corrode badly and often do not survive. According to George Coffey, Irish Bronze Age swords can be divided into two types, earlier ones that are plain, and later ones from the Hallstatt period that have notches below the handle. The leaf-shaped type was typical not only of Ireland but also of Western and Northern Europe. It was a thrusting rather than a cutting weapon. As with this fine example, which was once in the collection of the Earl of Dunraven at Adare Manor, the sword handle was cast in one piece with the blade, and has rivet-holes for the attachment of the hilt, which was likely formed of bone or horn plates and leather. The pommel was probably globular, and formed of lead or some heavy material. Swords of this type have been found at Mycenae, showing that people from the North had reached Greece during the Bronze age, around 1200 BC. The scabbards of leaf-shaped swords were made of wood or leather, protected by a ferule or chape of bronze, which was fastened to it by rivets. Edwin RichardWindhamWyndham-Quin, 3rd Earl of Dunraven (1812-1871), from whose collection this sword came, was a scholar of ancient Irish civilization and a patron of art and archaeology. His own collection had antiquities that could rival those of the RIA; the latter collection forming the basis of the National Museum of Ireland. Dunraven was friends with George Petrie, William Stokes, Margaret Stokes and other archaeologists. A founding member of the Irish Archæological Society in 1840, and of the Celtic Society in 1845, his Notes on Irish Architecture is based on extensive research and travels throughout Ireland. He died in 1871 and was buried at Adare.
 €5,000 - €7,000 1281