DENIS Drum of Malahide got 1996 off to a busy start with a recent auction, when £1,300 was paid for a rosewood sofa/library table, £1,100 was paid for a Dresden floral vase and a similar figure was fetched for a pair of Royal Worcester vases. Five Regency style antique chairs sold for £900 and a brush end Victorian dining table fetched £750.

Drum's next auction is next Thursday when the pick of the lots could be a serpentine oystershell walnut Victorian breakfast table (estimate, £1,200-£1,500) and a davenport desk in rosewood (similar estimate).