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Historic stained glass from the Convent of Mercy in Castletownbere,  Ernest Bewley’s desk and a white marble crouching Venus once at Powerscourt House are among the lots to tempt collectors at Fonsie Mealy’s two day sale in Castlecomer on July 25 and 26.

The prime piece from among eight stained glass panels is entitled St. Patrick Our National Apostle.  Estimated at 4,000-6,000 it depicts King Loegaire, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, King of Pagans and Barbarians, being baptised and received into the catholic church. It was made  by Earley and Company (1861-1975), one of the largest ecclesiastical  decorators in Ireland and the UK.  The rest of the eight  panels depict various saints, Our Lady and the Sacred Heart with estimates from 700 to 6,000.

Lot 550 is a late 19th century Chinese export wooden desk owned and used by Ernest Bewley, founder of the eponymous oriental cafes. It is estimated at 2,000-3,000.  The catalogue cover lot is an Italian crouching Venus which was in the Great Salon at Powerscourt in the 1800’s.  Powerscourt and most of its contents were destroyed by fire in 1974. It is estimated at 7,000-9,000.

The auction will feature a collection of more than 70 lots of militaria built up over the past 40 years. Among these is a pair of Irish flintlock duelling pistols by McDermot (Dublin) estimated at 5,000-7,000.  There is a selection of Georgian and Victorian furniture form Kevin Castle in Co. Cavan. Lot 183, Lord Nelson’s shoe buckle was formerly in the Bridgeport collection and the vendor believes it to have been originally held by Nelson’s brother William.  Art includes a group of five original watercolours relating to the 1798 rebellion by  Arthur David McCormick for a London book marking the centenary of the rebellion in 1898.  This is estimated at 4,500-5,500. A depiction of The Fish Market at Roundstone by Kenneth Webb is estimated at 10,000-15,000. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection: