WHYTE'S IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART MONDAY 31 MAY 2021 AT 6PM

148 116 Rory Breslin (b.1963) MASK OF THE LIFFEY bronze; (no. 2 from an edition of 3) signed and numbered 25.50 by 16 by 5in. (64.8 by 40.6 by 12.7cm) Frame Dimensions: Excellent condition. Dimensions of base: 9.75 by 9.75 by 9.75in. This is the last subject of the River Mask Series. Situated centrally over the main doorway of the Custom House to emphasise its pre-eminence, the only female in Edward Smyth’s river-head series approaches the ideal of Greek classical beauty. This interpretation depicts the visage framed by her braided locks, flowing hair and crowned by flowers and fruits. Blackberries, peas, damsons and wildflowers are perhaps a reference to the Liffey’s fertile banks as it flows through Dublin, while the Scots pine-cone and a diadem of ornamental ferns may refer to the rivers source at Kippure and the Wicklow Mountains. The symbol of maritime dominance, the trident is flanked by two broad spears or pilums. The suggestion has been made that these are symbolic of the rights of Admiralty possessed by the city over the waters of the port and the Bay of Dublin. €6,000-€8,000 (£5,220-£6,960 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot116