Cromwellian-style dining chairs for £2,000-plus

Thomas Adams of Blackrock, Co Dublin, is holding a furniture and fine art auction on the company's premises next Tuesday, starting at 11 a.m. A Victorian three-door breakfront bookcase carries a presale estimate of £2,000-£3,000, as does a Victorian ebony and walnut side cabinet. A Victorian rosewood marquetry chiffonier is expected to sell for £1,000-£1,500, the same figure as a Victorian boardroom table with three additional leaves. A set of 10 Cromwellian-style brass-studded dining chairs has a somewhat higher estimate of £2,000-£3,000 and a George IV mahogany sofa table is expected to sell for £1,000-£1,500.

Watercolours of George Pennefeather in the frame

Dublin auctioneer, John de Vere White seems to be making something of a speciality of studio sales. Over the past year, he has disposed of large bodies of work by the little-known Phil Rafferty and the much more familiar Arthur Armstrong. On Tuesday, May 12th the next such auction will see the sale of 88 watercolours by George Pennefeather, who died more than 30 years ago. Born in Cork, Pennefeather exhibited regularly at the RHA between 1939 and 1944, as well as with the Watercolour Society of Ireland for many years. In 1943, he founded the Kilkenny Art Gallery Society, and thanks to extensive travels he also enjoyed professional success in Australia and Africa. Examples of his work are in the collection of Cork's Crawford Art Gallery. The group of pictures being sold in 10 days time originally came from the artist's family. Included are still lives, seascapes and landscapes, all sharing the same fluid quality and easy charm. Prices range from £250 upwards, but after the Rafferty sale, when all estimates were greatly surpassed, Pennefeather's paintings could make much larger sums.