Haughey link adds value at auction

OWNING A fruit bowl or vase that once graced Charles Haughey’s sideboard came within the reach of anyone who attended yesterday’s auction of items from the former taoiseach’s home in Abbeville, Kinsealy.

There was strong public interest in James Adam’s June sale of fine period furnishings, paintings and silver which included almost 50 lots of glass and silver from the politician’s former home in north Dublin. It follows a March auction of some 100 works of art from Abbeville.

Some silver and glassware made twice and three times their estimated value at the auction room on St Stephen’s Green.

Adam’s managing director James O’Halloran said almost every lot went for well above its estimate and he described interest in the sale as “fantastic”.

A large 1966 Irish Celtic Revival salver was estimated at €2,000-€3,000 but fetched €4,200, he said.

A fine pair of 1791 Irish George III circular salvers was estimated at €800-1,200 but made €1,600.

A 41cm high Waterford Crystal model of a leaping salmon on a circular timber base was sold for €420.

Mr O’Halloran said there was “absolutely no doubt” that the Haughey connection was the reason for the strong prices at the sale. Pre-sale interest was high and several phone lines were booked in advance.

Mr O’Halloran said the auction house had placed appropriate estimates on all the items “but we couldn’t factor in that extra value because of their provenance”.

These items were disposed of by the Haugheys some years after the sale of Abbeville but they still proved attractive to the buyers. The auction included items such as a sauce boat, an Edwardian bonbon dish, a 1921 cigar box with a pair of ashtrays, a condiment set, sugar bowls and tea-pots.

The Abbeville items were just some of the 540 lots at the sale yesterday with many lots coming from the estate of the late Anne Bullitt.