The auction of the contents of Bantry House in west Cork, one of Ireland's best-known stately homes, will take place on Tuesday, October 21st. The sale, on the premises, will be conducted by Scottish fine art auctioneers, Lyon & Turnbull. A spokesman from the company, Philip Gregory, said there will be four days of viewing at the house starting on Friday, October 17th.
The catalogue will be available from mid-September and will feature some 400 lots including furniture, paintings and collectibles. The sale is expected to realise €1 million. Among the highlights is a set of French Aubusson tapestries reputedly made for Marie Antoinette on her marriage to the Dauphin of France.
Bantry House was the family seat of the Earls of Bantry in the 19th century but the title became extinct in 1891. It is home to the ninth generation of the Shelswell-White family and has been open to the public since 1946. The house is used as a venue for weddings and concerts while the east wing has been converted for a B&B business.
According to the family “many of the objects in the sale are of museum quality and need to be expertly cared for” and that the money raised would “make it possible for Bantry House to have a future as a successful place, more in step with the times we live in.”
