A strong contingent of past pupils is expected to be among the bidders at the contents sale of Loreto Abbey, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 tomorrow. Over 400 lots of furniture from the former school and convent - soon to be developed as apartments - will be auctioned by Hamilton Osborne King in what promises to be a lively afternoon of bidding for old time's sake. Among the best furniture lots is a striking Victorian oak and leather sofa with Gothic detail. It carries a top estimate of £2,000. There is also a mahogany dining table (£1,000-£1,500), a mahogany bookcase (£800-£1,200) and two sets of 12 dining chairs with red leather upholstery (£600-£1,000).
A plaster bust of Daniel O'Connell from the studio of John Hogan (£1,000-£1,500) and a set of two hall benches with leather upholstery (£300-£400) are also among the more valuable items in the sale. However, a vast range of brass and silver candelabra and single candlesticks, many of which were in the 19th Century Gothic chapel at Loreto Abbey, will undoubtedly draw interest, as will some religious paintings and prints, vases and china from the convent and school.
A number of upright pianos from the school's music rooms may interest families. (Bring along your piano tuner before buying.) Hundreds of chairs - many of them bentwood - may be of interest to churches or community halls, even to restaurateurs. Single and double wardrobes and desks galore are also for sale.
There are a few older desks with inkwells which will attract the purchaser in search of nostalgia. Anyone putting together a fashionably unfitted kitchen may be tempted by the number of pine display cabinets, cupboards, lockers and open shelves of all sizes, estimated from as little as £10, as well as the numerous pine and formica tables on offer.
This is an interesting sale to have a rummage around, but those in search of the order's real treasures may have missed the boat. Hamilton Osborne King included over 30 lots of paintings and furniture from the Abbey in their furniture and fine art auction at the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin on June 6. Items sold then included an oil on canvas entitled Cappricio by Willem van der Hagan for £100,000 and a portrait of the Bishop of Kilfenora by J Ryan of Galway for £23,000. A set of 11 early 19th Century mahogany chairs also sold for £8,500 and an armorial sideboard by Strahan of Dublin made £10,500.
Loreto Abbey and grounds were sold to Zoe Developments for about £14 million through Hamilton Osborne King last October. The central Georgian block and church are listed for preservation. The Loreto sisters have kept two buildings on the southern side of the complex and a small site at the rear, part of the old garden and orchard, where a retirement and nursing home is to be built. The remainder of the grounds will be developed with apartment blocks.
Established as a school in 1823, Loreto Abbey was the first of the Loreto convent schools to be built in Dublin.
