Given the scarcity of Irish country houses still occupied by the descendants of their original owners, contents sales have also become something of a rarity. Instead, what seems to be an increasing occurrence are auctions in which selective accumulated items are dispersed in what might be described as rather grand attic clearances.
This is probably the best way to summarise the sale being conducted in the middle of next month by HOK Fine Art in Co Down. The event takes place at Ballywalter Park, considered "Ireland's finest 19th century Italianate palazzo" by historian Mark Bence-Jones who recalls Professor Alistair Rowan's description of the premises as being "a building with a metropolitan air and all the architectural trappings of a London club".
Ballywalter was built around 1846 for Andrew Mulholland, a former Lord Mayor of Belfast and one of that city's leading businessmen. He was owner of the world's then-largest linen mill on York Street. With the wealth accrued from this business, he was able to buy an old Co Down estate, then known as Springvale, and the existing house here was largely rebuilt to the designs of Charles Lanyon. The present property's main rendered neo-classical block was completed in 1852 but 11 years later, a sandstone wing was added to contain a smoking room, billiard room and domed conservatory - Lanyon, after all, was also responsible for the Palm House in Belfast's Botanic Gardens. Andrew Mulholland's son became the first Lord Dunleath and it is his great, great grandson who now lives at Ballywalter.
Extensive restoration work undertaken by the family in recent years has meant that many items of furniture which had lain unused for a long time have been rediscovered. No longer required, these are the lots being sold in September, together with pieces from a number of other properties. Among the most personal and curious items are the sets of linen which were woven at the Mulholland York Street mill; probably reserved for family use, some of these seem never to have been used. There are 50 such lots, ranging from bags containing half a dozen bedsheets to large collections of table napkins; some pieces carry the Dunleath family crest.
HOK has not given any estimates for the linen, preferring to see what is the degree of interest in this material. In the sale catalogue the other lots do, however, carry figures of what they are expected to make. Among the pictures, two stand out once more because they are directly associated with the Mulholland family.
The first of these is a mid-19th century work, somewhat naif in style and produced in Belfast, showing John and Thomas Mulholland, the latter riding a pony; it is expected to go for £2,500-£4,000. Attributed to Stephen Catterson Smith, a President of the RHA in the 19th century, the other work is a three-quarter length portrait of Andrew Mulholland showing the family patriarch seated in a library armchair; its pre-sale estimate is £3,000-£5,000.
Among the furniture included, there are also a number of lots which should be especially popular, such as a set of nine 19th century mahogany dining chairs with buttoned upholstered seats and backs set of beaded fluted legs (£1,000-£2,000). Then there is what looks to be a charming set of 12 18th century Irish provincial mahogany dining chairs with upholstered seats and square backs filled with pierced vase-shaped splats; originally coming from the Armagh Grand Jury Rooms, this lot is expected to fetch £2,000-£3,000. Also well worthy of note are a mid-18th century mahogany press (£2,500-£4,000), an 18th century mahogany tray top table (£4,000-£6,000) and an early 19th century boxwood and brass line-inlaid sofa table (£2,500-£4,000) - these three lots are all Irish. The sale is also due to contain large amounts of household pottery and glassware, usually expected to fetch in the region of £100-£200 per lot.
The Ballywalter sale takes place on Monday, 17th September starting at 10 a.m.
