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Featuring Masterpieces from China, the Himalayas, Japan,Korea, and Vietnam — From the Neolithic Period to Modern Art
Dublin, October 2025 — This season’s Asian Art Auction presents a sweeping journey across millennia of artistic creation, uniting masterworks from China, the Himalayas, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. From Neolithic jade carvings to refined Edo-period prints, the sale celebrates the depth and diversity of Asian creativity.
Among the highlights are Archaic Chinese Jades (Lots34, 39, 52, 53, 56, 58, 137), artifacts that embody the earliest expressions of humanity’s spiritual beliefs. These ritual objects — revered by Neolithic peoples — capture the dawn of cosmological thought. Particularly outstanding is Lot 53, the Jade Pig Dragon, remarkable for its monumental form and exceptional preservation.
Another major section features The Ca Mau Shipwreck Collection (Lots 1–31). Discovered off the coast of southern Vietnam in 1998, the wreck dates to the late Kangxi to early Yongzheng reigns (c.1720–1735). The porcelain cargo, mainly Jingdezhen blue-and-white wares, offers rare archaeological evidence of Qing-dynasty maritime trade and the global circulation of Chinese ceramics. The 31 groups presented here come from an important Irish private collection with impeccable provenance.
The Himalayan Art section includes early Tibetan ritual and domestic objects (Lots 165, 194–196, 237–241) such as Thokcha (celestial iron talismans) and Nine Palace Eight Trigram plaques. These sacred items, blending material mystery and cosmological philosophy, reveal the profound spiritual vision of Tibetan Buddhism.
This season also introduces a new focus on Korean Art (Lots 304, 313), with refined ceramics and paintings admired for their simplicity, purity, and literati grace.
Finally, the Japanese Vanity Motif Collection (Lots 381–385) explores the philosophy of impermanence through haunting imagery of skulls and mortality, including Lot 383, inscribed with a celebrated haiku by Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694):
Among the summer grasses —
The remains of soldiers’ dreams —
The shadow of warriors.
Special Lecture Event
Across the Blue Waves from Jingdezhen to Dublin: TheVoyage of Blue and White Porcelain
Presented by Miss Li-Chun Hu
Saturday, 8 November, 3:00 PM
Li-Chun Hu is an independent consultant specializing in Chinese ceramics and works of art, based between Taipei, Jingdezhen, and London. With nearly fifteen years of experience advising collectors, museums, and auction houses across Asia, Europe, and North America, her research and curatorial projects bring fresh perspectives to longstanding questions in Chinese art. Drawing on her background in Industrial Design, she shapes both the conceptual and visual identity of exhibitions, bridging scholarship and design with insight and elegance.
Auction Date: Wednesday, 12 November, 11 AM (Dublin)/ 12 PM (Paris)
Location: 26 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, D02 X665, Ireland
Paris Preview: 28–31 October, 10 AM–6 PM, 18 rue de la Grange-Batelière,75009 Paris
(Please note that only part of the collection will be exhibited in Paris;contact the Asian Art Department to confirm specific lots.)
Dublin Preview:7-11 November, Adam’s, 26 St.Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, D02 X665, Ireland
Through this article, let our expert Adam Pearson guiding you to the (re)discovery of the once established Irish painter Richard O’Neill.
Buying at Auction and the Role of Antiques in a Modern Home
Important Irish Art Auction Highlights
Oliver Dowling Collection by Aidan Dunne
2024 is a year in which Adam’s wants to recognise the key role buying antique furniture and furnishings at auction contributes greatly to the sustainable initiative. In 2019 the Environmental Protection Agency reported stark figures that each year in Ireland 1.2 million reusable bulky items, primarily furniture goes into landfill. Similar to the problem of ‘fast fashion’, the constant production and consumption of new items is leading to rapidly growing waste problem. We want to acknowledge those who are already buying second hand or antique furniture at auction and to encourage new buyers by highlighting the benefits of acquiring affordable, well-made quality items that are built to last.
Irish author, recipe creator and lifestyle influencer, Indy Parsons, selects her favourite pieces from our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction
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Cork-born Irish actress, Sarah Greene, selects her favourite pieces from our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction
Yvonne Aupicq had met Orpen, we understand, while working as a nurse during the war. He had been admitted to hospital with a suspected case of scabies which ended up being a far more serious case of blood poisoning as he recounts in his wartime memoir ‘An Onlooker in France’. Their relationship continued after 1918 when Orpen was appointed as the official artist to The Paris Peace Conference. They relocated to capital and over the following decade he painted her numerous times, often nude as in Amiens 1914, or The Rape and Nude Girl Reading (1921). Working with her as his model during these early years after the war allowed Orpen an opportunity to re-fuel his creativity.
Editor-in-Chief of IMAGE Publications, Lizzie Gore-Grimes, selects her favourite pieces from our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction
Our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction on September 13th features a prime example of Van Cleef & Arpel's renowned 'Mystery Setting'
Our June auction offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the great masterpieces of Irish art and icons of Dublin’s history.
Georgia Chiesa selects some of her favourite lots in the upcoming Vintage Wine & Spirits Auction
"Beating the bounds is a tradition that can be traced back to the medieval period. At this time, land was divided into parishes and the clergy and church wardens held the responsibility for its upkeep and management. It was up to the Church to ensure that its parishioners knew the local boundary lines and, before maps became commonplace, this had to be kept as a mental record."
Adam’s in conjunction with Suzanne MacDougald are proud to host an online timed auction of artworks to aid the Irish Red Cross’s humanitarian work in delivering vital services to millions of people impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. With no buyers premium 100% of the hammer price will go directly to the Irish Red Cross.
Ros Drinkwater writes of Jack B Yeats' 'The Boat' in the Business Post:
With a consolidated result of €320,000,the At Home sale in Stephan’s Green, was a great success.
James Adam & Sons Ltd, Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers, 26 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,
D02 X665, Ireland
