Plentiful supply of choice porcelain on offer

Porcelain and chairs are the stars of next Wednesday morning's auction at the James Adam salerooms in Dublin. To start with the former, of which there is a more plentiful supply than usual, one of the choicest lots will no doubt be a very extensive late-19th century Coalport part dinner service with distinctive apple green border and hand-painted floral sprigs.

Among almost 100 pieces are a soup tureen, four sauce tureens and five vegetable tureens, all with covers; the estimate on this lot is £1,500£2,000 perhaps reflecting the incomplete nature of the service rather than its attractiveness.

A smaller, more recently produced and more modestly priced lot comprises a set of four Clarice Cliff square plates in the Bizarre pattern (estimate £800£1,200).

It is complemented by two other lots in the same Clarice Cliff design - a damaged vase (accordingly, £140£180) and a pair of single-handle jugs (£800-£1,200).

Elsewhere in the sale is another extensive part dinner service, this time early Victorian from Mason's Ironstone Imari pattern; the 50-plus hand-painted pieces in shades of blue, orange and green carry an estimate of £3,000£5,000.

A 19th century Crown Derby-style tea and coffee service, its blue base decorated with green and gilt foliage, is expected to make £1,000£1,500 while a pair of Coalbrookdale porcelain urns dating from circa 1840 has double that estimate.

Among the items of Belleek is a pair of second period trumpet shaped vases (£300£500) and a first period standing classical female figure (£2,000£3,000).

As for the chairs, these come in small and large sets, such as the pair of Regency mahogany-framed tub-back arm chairs with leather upholstery in the manner of Thomas Hope (£3,000£5,000) and a set of nine Regency mahogany rail-back dining chairs, three of them carvers (£3,000£4,000).

Then there is a pair of Victorian mahogany rectangular hall chairs (£400-£600), a single late 18th century giltwood armchair in the manner of Robert Adam (£800-£1,000), an Irish George I fruitwood-framed dining chair (£500£700) and, for those needing larger numbers, a set of eight William IV mahogany-framed curved back chairs with padded seats (£1,500£2,000). There are plenty of other furniture lots in the same sale. Of particular note are a pair of George III mahogany brass-bound peat buckets (£3,500£5,000), an Irish George IV mahogany rectangular serving table (£2,000£4,000), a George III mahogany sideboard (£1,500£2,000) and a George III mahogany chest on chest (£2,000£3,000).

Finally, a couple of curiosities in this sale are the two 19th century Japanese suits of armour, each contained in a japanned lacquer box and with the same estimate of £3,000£4,000.

One of these could be just the thing to wear when next battling to gain admission to a crowded salesroom.