Fenders are having a moment at auction in Ireland. This good quality brass club fender made 2,000 at hammer on the opening night of Victor Mee’s three day decorative interiors and art sale in Belturbet, Co. Cavan last night. Just last week a large Cork regency brass fender made 1,300 at hammer at Sheppards three day sale of contents from St. Austins, Gorey, Co. Wexford. And a brass and leather club fender made 1,500 at last nights sale. The auction by Victor Mee continues this evening and tomorrow.
This 19th century band stand originally from the St. Louis Convent in Co. Monaghan made 5,000 at hammer
A rare 19th century bandstand from the St. Louis Convent in Co. Monaghan made a hammer price of €5,000 on day of Victor Mee’s two day summer garden sale today. It comes complete with cast iron Corinthian columns, timber frame and zinc roof. The guttering, not in the photograph, is included. A good quality wrought iron French greenhouse in the Victorian style made 6,200. A pair of bronze statues of foals and a bronze of a bellowing stag each made 4,000 and a decorated moulded sandstone fountain made €3,900. A set of entrance gates with cast iron gates posts made 3,200 and a pair of 19th century cast recumbent lions made 2,950.
This 19th century carved limestone entrance staircase is at Victor Mee’s annual summer garden sale on May 28 and 29. With its sweeping sides, five steps and pillared planters it is estimated at €5,000-€8,000. More than 1,000 lots will come under the hammer on consecutive evenings and the catalogue is online. UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,200 AT HAMMER
A 19th century French oak pantry cupboard. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600 AT HAMMER
For those hell bent on upscaling an interior and adding a touch of real individuality the sort of lots that can set the imagination soaring can be found in plenty at Victor Mee’s decorative interiors sale on April 24 and 25.
Among an eclectic selection of items are an early 19th century French oak pantry cupboard (€1,500-€3,000), a pair of Ralph Lauren brass wall sconces (€600-€1,200), a 19th century French copper bath (€600-€1,200), a life sized stuffed brown bear (€4,000-€8,000) and a Grecian urn (€450-€850).
Or how about a now rare early 20th century bronze luggage and coat rack complete with mirror (€200-€400). These were a familiar sight on all trains once so this one should jog memories.
The Grand Tour plaster cast Grecian urn on pedestal might stimulate an irresistible urge to try to compose like the Romantic poet John Keats. His famous Ode to a Grecian Urn concludes with the words:
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty, – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know”.
A 19th century life size taxidermy brown bear UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
A full page account of the Kilmichael Ambush carried out by a Flying Column of the West Cork Brigade comes up as lot 87 at Victor Mee’s sale on March 19. Complete with photographs and a hand drawing of the ambush site, where 36 IRA volunteers commanded by General Tom Barry ambushed and killed 16 members of the RIC in Kilmichael in November 1920 the sepia coloured broadsheet newspaper page with some staining comes up as lot 87 and is estimated at €200-€400. The Battlefields and Silver Screen auction, with 523 lots, offers military artefacts, Irish silver and film posters. A framed 19th century silk Fenian Sash is, at €2,000-€4,000, the most expensively estimated lot in a sale with everything from a Wanted poster for Billy the Kid to Georgian Irish silver sauce boats, a 19th century Dublin flintlock blunderbuss, the Sinn Fein Rebellion Handbook of Easter 1916, a film poster for Jaws and original World War I enlistment posters.
A 19th century Strahan dining table. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
From a 15 foot long dining table by Robert Strahan and a resin cast of a pair of Irish elk antlers and skull to a 19th century spinning wheel, an antique divers helmet and pairs of Art Nouveau glass panels the online interiors sale by Victor Mee over two evenings on February 27-28 is brimful of interest. Just under 1,000 lots will come under the hammer at auctions beginning each day at 5.30 pm. The Strahan table with five leaves is from a Victorian house on Temple Road, Dublin and estimated at €4,000-€8,000. There are cast iron dogs, peat buckets, side tables, a decorative gilt sunburst mirror, easy chairs, a Dior advertising figure with black gloves, Tiffany style lamps, a Chesterfield settee in an online catalogue that features antique furniture, art, carpets and furnishings for a decorative interior.
A gilt sunburst mirror UPDATE: THIS MADE 300 AT HAMMER
Given that 2023 has been the warmest year on record there might be more interest than usual in this moulded stone two tier fountain at Victor Mee’s Winter Decorative Interiors sale on December 30. Surmounted with cherubs it it estimated at €2,000-€4,000. There are 764 lots in offer in a sale that will get underway at noon. The catalogue is online and the sale is on view today. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER
Customised Ralph Lauren bar cabinet. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,000 AT HAMMER
This Ralph Lauren duke bar cabinet customised for a super yacht in the South of France is the top lot at Victor Mee’s winter decorative interiors sale on December 30. The 1930’s inspired piece styled in rosewood with polished stainless steel trim has features that include a removable stainless steel tray on top and a flat silver liner. The second of three drawers has a flip down front with black mirror surface and there are storage shelves on the end doors. The estimate is €4,000-€8,000. There are 632 lots in the auction including an 18 branch Waterford Crystal chandelier, a watercolour of a Connemara cottage by Percy French, a walnut chest of drawers with brass mounts and a burr walnut four door secretaire.
Longboats from the Vikings Valhalla tv series. UPDATE: ONE OF THE LONGBOATS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER, THE OTHER WAS UNSOLD
If a full sized replica of a Viking longboat is what you really really want then Victor Mee’s two day sale in Belturbet and online on October 17, 18 and 19 is the place to be. Not one but two such longboats feature in the auction each estimated at €10,000-€20,000. With 1,348 lots on offer in a remarkable sale drawn from BG Salvage yard at Naas the diverse range features a Buccaneer fighter jet pilots ejector seat and cockpit cover, bronze ship horns converted to table lamps, retro chrome and upholstered swivel chairs, a chemist and opticians sign from Disney’s “Disenchanted”, hand painted wooden panels from the film Braveheart and whatever you are having yourself.
A pair of 18th century painted pine doors with carved panels. UPDATE: THESE MADE 900 AT HAMMER
Salvage comes in all shapes and forms so there is plenty to explore here, for both interior and exterior use.Along with offering basic salvaged items BG Salvage is a resource for film, tv and stage productions in search of props and decor. The working longboats, measuring 46 feet and 49 feet respectively, are from the filming of the TV drama series Vikings Valhalla. Also from this series is an oriental table decorated with fo dogs and 19th century benches. There is a French gilded gesso room originally from a French chateau and a chemist and opticians signs from Disney’s Disenchanted. Among the film props are painted panels from Braveheart, a gothic angel from Reign of Fire, a timber and glass shop front from Penny Dreadful. There is a big selection of more than 400 furniture lots including gilded armchairs from Carton House, stained pine armchairs from the Tudor TV series, bar stools with leather upholstered seats and retro chrome swivel chairs.
A Brunswick style ebonised bar UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
There is a Brunswick style ebonised bar counter with mirrored back and glass panels, a painted hardwood shop cabinet with eight glazed doors above a bank of 40 drawers, a pair of 18th century painted pine doors, 19th century pitch pine doors with copper and glass panels, bronze sculptures, bronze lamps with reeded panels, a heavily carved tribal throne chair, blacksmith forged railings, a 19th century Irish pine kitchen table and a good selection of unusual architectural items from marbleised plaster Corinthian columns to onyx pedestals and a fibreglass wall panel depicting a Knight Templar and a wooden porthole window. Viewing at BG Salvage in Naas is from noon to 5 pm today and tomorrow.
A pair of chrome swivel chairs. UPDATE: THESE MADE 900 AT HAMMER
Fully restored 1920 Dodge Bros Tourer car with leather seats and Tipperary registration at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,000 AT HAMMER
From a 1920 Dodge tourer (€8,000-€12,000) to a selection of chandeliers at €100-€200 the separate auctions of contents from two hotels will provide much to interest bargain hunters next week. Victor Mee of Belturbet, Co. Cavan will offer more than 2,000 lots, online and in house, from Finnstown Castle, Lucan on April 4, 5 and 6. Sean Eacrett of Ballybrittas, Co. Laois will hold a first part sale of contents from the Lough Erne Resort, with 883 lots on April 4. Finnstown announced its closure last November, not long after undergoing a refurbishment. The popular Lough Erne Resort near Enniskillen is undergoing an extensive refurbishment.
Top lots from Finnstown include the Dodge tourer and a red Singer 9 roadster made for the sewing machine company, fully restored in the 1980’s (€5,000-€8,000), an Irish Victorian mirror bar back with antique glass (€4,000-€8,000), a 19th century ebonised inverted breakfront credenza (€8,000-€12,000), a pair of early 19th century bronze coat and hat stands from a Dublin bank (€5,000-€10,000), a life size bronze model of a stag (€3,000-€6,000), a pair of Irish brass bound peat buckets (€3,000-€5,000) and an Irish 19th century carved mahogany centre table (€4,000-€6,000).There are garden gazebos and urns, outdoor statues of the four seasons, a moulded stone well head and arch, bronze and moulded stone animals, fountains, archways, a pair of early 19th century spiral wrought iron gate pillars, a pair of arched wrought iron leaded glass windows, a good selection of garden benches and a small glasshouse.
19th century boulle credenza at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER
The Lough Erne collection sale, the first of three, will include chandeliers at €100-€200, stylish chairs, mahogany veneer desks and cabinets, mirrors and pictures. All are in excellent condition. Wing back floral fabric armchairs are estimated at €80-€120 and tub chairs at €60-€100. There are single and double headboards, luggage racks, glass door cabinets and one hundred ebonised and gilt table lamps with estimates of €30-€50 each.
