The sideboard once owned by Sir John Pope Hennessy at Marshs auction in Cork. UPDATE: This was unsold.
This heavily carved oak Italian mirror backed sideboard, which comes up at Marshs auction in Cork on July 6, was once owned by Sir John Pope Hennessy, the Cork born 8th governor of Hong Kong. It is estimated 1,500-2,000. The Cork auction will feature a selection of Georgian, Regency and Victorian furniture and collectibles.
Though a catholic, Sir John Pope-Hennessy served as Governor in Hong Kong from 1877 to 1883. His lifting of the ban that forbade Chinese people from owning land, constructing buildings and operating businesses in the Central District caused a development boom. He also allowed Chinese immigrants into Hong Kong to naturalise as British subjects.
An MP for King’s County and for North Kilkenny he had previously served consecutively as Governor of Labuan, Sierra Leone and the Windward Islands.