LOVERS of country house auctions will certainly want to head for west Cork next week because a rather special sale is to be held in the library of Bantry House on Thursday, starting at 10.30 a.m.
The majority of the 370 odd lots come from Bantry itself, home of the Shelswell White family, and there will be viewing on the two days preceding the auction. Because such sales are now infrequent occurrences in Ireland, the event has created considerable interest. According to Skibbereen auctioneer, Morgan O'Driscoll, who will be on the podium next Thursday, quite a few English dealers are thinking of travelling over to Bantry for the occasion.
Aside from plenty of furniture, the auction also includes a number of pieces of 18th century Cork silver, not least a George III cream jug dating from around 1770 (£900-£1,200), a snuffers tray from the same period (£1,000-£2,000) and a Regency four piece tea service (£1,400-£2,000)
Also of particular interest are a pair of George II silver salvers bearing the arms of the Earls of Fingall (£1,500-£2,500) and a George III sauceboat (£600-£800). Both of these are of Dublin origin.
A Louis XV marquetry ladies secretaire, with ormolu mounts and tulip wood cross banding, carries the day's highest estimate at £5,000-£7,000. More than £2,500 is expected for both an English walnut marquetry bureau and a marble topped bombe pedestal cabinet painted with a mythological scene on the front. A George IV library table is judged to reach anything between £2,500 and £3,500.
A pair of Adamstyle console tables with a dished top over fluted undercarriage are expected to go for £3,000-£4,000.
