IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART MONDAY 2 OCTOBER 2023 AT 6PM

105 IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART · 2 OCTOBER 2023 AT 6PM 86 Rory Breslin (b.1963) THE AUGUST MASK [CLEW BAY SERIES] bronze; (no. 1 from an edition of 3) signed and numbered on top 31 by 12 by 11in. (78.7 by 30.5 by 27.9cm) The expression of the youthful August Mask is stoic and quite a bit determined. A plethora of symmetrically balanced leaves issue from the top of the work to the bottom. The first, a canopy of Twayblade orchid leaves overhang the crisscrossed leaves of the Marsh orchid and two rosettes of Spear thistle on either side of the head. Folklore of both ancient Ireland and Greece tell of mixing the roots of orchids with goat’s milk to make love potions. The thistle, James II choice of emblem for Scotland was picked because of its defensive symbolism...’Nemo me impune lacessit’, ‘Nobody touches me with impunity’. Below the thistles, leaves of the Doves tail crane bill, complete with their flowers frame the lower arc of the sculpture. Acrobatically flying through the cascade of leaves, four blue tits fly harmoniously reflecting each other at the upper and lower sections of the sculpture. The tails of the upper birds graze flowers of the Devil’s Bit, named from the fact that its roots look truncated, as if bitten off, legend has it, by the Devil. A series of plants curve inwards with the youth’s face from the chin up. Leaves of the much maligned Ragwort and the pointed buds of Goat’s Beard, whose flowers close up at noon. Seedbuds of Plaintan follow the cheekbones and lastly Patrick’s emblem, used to explain the essence of the Holy Trinity to King Aengus, the clover subtly hangs down from the forehead. €4,000-€6,000 (£3,420-£5,130 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot86