Furniture from the family owned five star luxury Red Carnation Hotels in Geneva, London, Guernsey and some items from Ashford Castle will be sold by auctioneer Aidan Foley in Cong, Co. Mayo on August 13. Live bidding is available through easy live auctions.
The no reserve sale of surplus items offers a wide variety of lots from a metamorphic billiards table to desks, chairs, couches, soft furnishings, Persian rugs, wall hangings and collectibles including an 1806 letter signed by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Red Carnation Hotels acquired and extensively refurbished Ashford Castle, one of Ireland’s most luxurious hotels, after a receivership sale in 2013. Auctioneer Aidan Foley first conducted a sale of surplus items from the Ashford Castle refurbishment in 2014. The auction was 100% sold and was followed by two further highly successful sales of surplus items in 2016 and 2017.
Among the notable lots that changed hands at previous sales were a bronze bust of John Wayne as The Quiet Man cast from the original statue in the village of Cong, the setting in 1951 for the film starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Cast by Mayo based sculptor Mark Rode it sold for 3,900. At last years sale the Black Yamaha piano played by Stevie Wonder at the wedding reception of Rory McIlroy sold for 7,800 over a top estimate of 3,000.
Some of the lots on offer this time round previously changed hands at sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams. Among these is a collection of 19th century tapestry borders, the decorative edges that surround many tapestries are a collectible item in their own right. A sale like this appeals both to serious collectors with deep pockets and those in search of an unusual bargain lot with the provenance of a guaranteed luxury decorative setting.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for August 4, 2018)
A selection from the sale.
A three seater chesterfield sofa UPDATE: THIS MADE 580 AT HAMMER
A metamorphic billiards table UPDATE: THIS MADE 740 AT HAMMER