Rare Arts and Crafts furniture found among second-hand tyres

An eight-piece suite of Irish Arts and Crafts movement furniture has turned up in a Kildare liquidation sales shop, writes MICHAEL PARSONS

LIQUIDATION sales can turn up the most surprising items. Irish Liquidators’ premises at Unit 1, Longtown, on the busy road between Straffan and Clane off the N7 in Co Kildare, has a sign outside advising: “Never pay retail again”.

Inside, there’s an eclectic mix of items for sale – from a Soviet officer’s full-dress uniform (€145) to a “Super cool religious grotto with a statue of Jesus taken from old Famine house in Kilkenny” (€325).

In a small warehouse at the back of the shop, something quite special has unexpectedly turned up. Almost hidden behind a selection of second-tyres is a magnificent suite of Irish Arts and Crafts Movement bedroom furniture.

Bought in Dublin between 1905 and 1910, the eight-piece suite is for sale with an asking price of €3,200. Irish Liquidators managing director Ross Graham described the lot as “the most beautiful bedroom furniture” he had ever seen.

The suite consists of a triple wardrobe with ebonised surround, a central mirror and two profusely decorated doors with floral motifs; an ebonised, mirrored-back dressing table with matching illustrations; a matching night pedestal; an ebonised clothes stand; an ebonised wash stand with a marble top featuring six hand-painted tiles featuring flowers and birds; and three matching occasional chairs with ebony surround and gilt piping. The chairs have recently been professionally restored and upholstered with an oatmeal coloured fabric.

The main pieces have the crucially important original makers’ label from W Fry and Co, 31 Westmoreland Street, Dublin: “Artistic Furniture, Woven Printed Fabrics, Carpets, Floorcloths, Wallpapers, Bedding and Bedroom Furniture, Irish Poplin Manufacturers and Silk Merchants by special appointment to all the Crowned heads of Europe; 9 Prize Medals awarded for Excellence in Design and Finish”.

The Arts and Crafts Movement, which began in England in about 1880 influenced international design until the first World War. The style encouraged the use of traditional materials and workmanship and advocated the use of decorative illustrations drawn from folklore and medieval romance.

The movement’s founder was William Morris – famous for his designs for furniture, wallpaper, stained glass and textiles. In Ireland, the movement became linked to the Celtic Revival led by William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory.

Surviving examples of good-quality Irish Arts and Crafts Movement furniture are rare; many were undoubtedly thrown out in skips and regarded as hopelessly old-fashioned. The suite is on view in the Irish Liquidators shop today and until it is sold. An offer has already been made – but below the asking price.

irishliquidators.com