The first country-house auction of 1999 takes place next week, although, perversely enough, it does not take place in a country house. Instead, at the wish of the vendors, auctioneer Michael Sheppard has removed the contents of a Co Lough property to his own premises in Durrow, Co Laois, where they will be sold on Wednesday afternoon.
Country-house contents sales are certainly the events which tend to excite the greatest interest among prospective buyers, not least because they have become an increasing rarity in the present decade. Until the 1970s, such occasions were a regular feature of the annual calendar, with the consequence that there are now very few homes left that are filled with the accretion of centuries. While properties and their contents are still regularly sold, their pedigree tends not to be very old or distinguished, and this, indisputably, has an impact on the prices fetched.
It will be interesting to see whether Sheppard's manage to create the atmosphere of a house sale in their own rooms. There are some fine pieces of furniture being auctioned, not least of which is a small George III honey-coloured bureau bookcase, with pierced fretwork pediment and astragal-glazed doors. Dating from circa 1800, this is the kind of item which never fails to find a buyer, particularly since so many homes are have relatively low-ceilings and cannot accommodate large furniture.
In addition, bureau bookcases, and indeed bookcases, are constantly in demand, so their prices remain keen. Mealy's, for example, sold a mid-Georgian period mahogany bureau cabinet in the manner of William Kent for £16,500, while last year, when the same auctioneers disposed of the contents of Kilshane House, Tipperary, a Queen Anne walnut bureau bookcase fetched £13,000.
Similarly, at the disposal of the principal contents of Kilsharvan House in the James Adam rooms last October, a very substantial George III yew wood and mahogany book-and-specimen case went for £14,000. The following month, in the same rooms, a late Victorian, painted, satinwood breakfront bookcase made the same figure. The bureau bookcase being offered by Sheppard's comes with a lower estimate of £6,000-£9,000 but it could very well make more than this.
There are many other good examples of 18th/early 19th-century furniture for sale in the same auction. A George III mahogany silver table with pierced fretwork gallery, which dates from 1790, carries an estimate of £6,000-£9,000, while a Regency mahogany drum table, with a leather top and a series of real and dummy drawers, is expected to make £7,000-£9,000. A pair of Regency mahogany elbow chairs should fetch £1,400-£1,800, a Regency rosewood and brass-inlaid card table has an estimate of £3,000-£4,000 and a Regency mahogany and ebony inlaid sofa table is expected to realise £2,500-£3,500. The auction begins at 2 p.m.
This George III honey-coloured bureau bookcase has a pierced fretwork pediment and astragal-glazed doors. It is one of the lots from a country house which will be auctioned by Michael Sheppard at his premises in Durrow, Co Laois, next Wednesday. It has a lower estimate of £6,000-£9,000
