This mid 18th century Irish card table made 26,000 at Hartley's in West Yorkshire on September 16, 2010. (click on image to enlarge)
THIS fine mid 18th century Irish mahogany card table, almost certainly one of a pair, sold at Hartley’s in West Yorkshire for £26,000 on Thursday, September 16, 2010. It had been estimated at 3,000-5,000, but the Irish antique trade had been very interested in the piece. Hartley’s said it was bought by the local trade in West Yorkshire on behalf of a client.
The lion paw of the Irish card table sold at Hartley's. (click on image to enlarge)
The rounded oblong folding top was relined in green baize. The shaped frieze is carved with acanthus scrolls on a punched ground and centred by a lion mask in high relief.
The fact that the mask faces in one direction indicates that it was once part of a pair of tables. The acanthus carved cabriole legs terminate in lion paw feet.
Hartley’s at Ilkley in West Yorkshire, is one of the leading auction houses for antiques and fine art sales outside London.
In June 2010 an Irish George II mahogany side table, c1750 from Kinnaird Estate made a staggering £229,940 at Lyon and Turnbull, Edinburgh. The piece was hotly contested by two bidders in the room and potential bidders lined up on ten telephone lines were unable to enter the fray.