Ramsden sale has something for everyone

THE catalogue of the sale at 24 Fitzwilliam Square, the property of antiques dealer Michael Ramsden, was released earlier this week by Hamilton Osborne King and it is guaranteed to be essential bedtime reading between now and the day of the sale, Monday, March 25th.

There are over 700 lots in all approximately 300 from Saskia Antiques, Mr Ramsden's business, which he ran from the house; a further 300 or so lots from the private apartments upstairs; and around 150 lots that have been added from different sources.

The result is a sale for everyone, from the serious collector and dealer to the social auction goer who just has to have something from this house, to the person with not too much to spend but with a good eye for quality, or a taste for the unusual.

The serious buyer will be chasing important items, such as lot 109, an oval dining table of truely elegant proportions that dates from around 1800. It is estimated at £8,000-£10,000. Or lot 255, pictured here, an early 19th century Irish bookcase, estimated at £20,000-£25,000.

Those who prefer Continental furniture will have a choice of important and ornate pieces, notably a French kingwood bureauplat or desk, with an inset leather top and gilt brass banding. It should fetch £12,000-£15,000. A walnut and parquetry bureau, made in Germany around 1770, has a top estimate of £5,000-£8,000, as does a kingwood and parquetry bonheur du jour, also German.

Show piece items aside this sale has numerous lots of good brown furniture -elegant chests, tables, armchairs and chairs, all with reasonable estimates. Most of these pieces are on the second and third floors of the house, in the Ramsden's private apartment. A high oak chest on chest in one of the bedrooms shows a little damage but has a lovely mellow colour. Its top estimate of £1,200 will probably be well exceeded on the day. There are mahogany side tables, 18th century and early 19th century with estimates of £600-£1,000, tea tables, kettle and urn stands and fold over card tables, all in good and glowing condition.

However, anyone who wants to buy something truely unusual without spending a fortune should head straight for the basement. Here, in no particular order, you will find a gilt, metal ceiling rose (£100-£200), a handsome 18th century French fruitwood kitchen table (£700-£990); two elaborate white painted French overmantel mirrorframes (£400-£600 each); a wire bird cage (£60-£100); a mahogany bed steps dating from 1800 (£250-£300); a lion skin rug, with head (£300-£500); and dozens and dozens of other items, from marble table tops to stags heads, from candlesticks to work boxes.

Viewing begins next Saturday at 24 Fitzwilliam Square. The sale will be held at Newman House on St Stephen's Green.