Kilkenny Castle table centrepiece for sale in London

Kilkenny Castle was the ancestral family home of the aristocratic Butlers of Ormonde, who auctioned off many of the contents in 1935 and eventually handed the castle over to the Irish State in 1967. However, some of the “family silver” was retained by the Butlers and brought to England.

Sotheby’s has announced that an elaborate table centrepiece known as a surtout de table (a French term) has been consigned to auction by the family and is among items in a forthcoming sale of “royal and aristocratic heirlooms from the four corners of the world”.

The surtout de table, made in London circa 1805 by royal goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, was commissioned by Walter Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde KP and 18th Earl of Ormonde and his wife Anna Maria Catherine Clarke.

The gilt-bronze piece, in five mirrored sections, is more than 8ft long and would have adorned the dining table during formal occasions at Kilkenny Castle, now one of Ireland’s most popular tourist destinations and maintained by the Office of Public Works. It will go under the hammer in New Bond Street on February 24th with an estimate of £8,000-£12,000 in an auction titled “Of Royal and Noble Descent”.