A RARE set of Great Irish elk antlers were sold to a private collector for £13,000 at James Adam's fine furniture sale last Wednesday. Spanning over 7ft, the antlers, which may date as far back as 450,000 BC, were found in the Bog of Ring in Balbriggan in the 1790s.

They were housed locally at Old Bridge House, Balbriggan, until their sale in 1984.

Also in the sale, a three-quarter-length portrait of Colonel Nicholas FitzGerald, in the manner of the late 17th-century artist Michael Dahl, sold for £6,500, while a portait of Napoleon attributed to Winterhalter sold within its estimate for £3,500.

A pair of Regency rosewood side cabinets (pictured on the front of the sale catalogue), were knocked down at £6,500. A George IV mahogany-framed armchair sold for £4,200 and a set of engravings of Irish provinces after John Speede fetched £3,000.

Other prices were: a pair of Louis Quatorze-style giltwood chairs, £2,800; and a pair of George IV candlesticks, £2,300.