This spectacular early Georgian gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet is the most expensively estimated lot at Sotheby’s sale of contents from Monte Alverno, Dalkey, Dublin in London on May 26. Formerly at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire it was acquired at Mallett’s in London in 1999 and is now estimated at £150,000-£250,000. The City by Jack B Yeats has a similar estimate. Monte Alverno; An Irish Private Collection contains a remarkable collection of English and Irish furniture and paintings from a home perched high on a terrace in Dalkey with views over the Irish Sea. There is beautifully carved and patinated Irish furniture dating from the mid-eighteenth century through to later pieces by Hicks of Dublin, partnered with gilded mirrors, Chinese works of art and fine English furniture along with paintings by Jack B. Yeats, William Scott, James Arthur O’Connor, Patrick Swift and other renowned Irish artists. The catalogue is online.
