Co Laois may not be known for its Hollywood martial arts film connections, but this month one of the biggest international television series in recent years, Into the Badlands, will have its legacy go under the hammer at a monster auction.
What is calling itself Ireland's largest sale, with in excess of 6,400 lots of more than 100,000 items, will be auctioned by Sean Eacrett at The Heritage Hotel Golf Club in Co Laois commencing Saturday 20th of July. The sale will run for six days with approximately 1,000 lots per day.
The series, which ran for three seasons, was filmed in Ireland, mostly in the Dublin Mountains and Ardmore Studios in Co Wicklow. With over a million viewers per episode, Eacrett is expecting global interest in the sale.
Already, 600 have registered to bid, he says, and on-site viewing will be possible in advance of the sale. The 20,000 sq ft showroom is stuffed to the gills with pieces from the post-apocalyptic series. Due to the current health restrictions, the viewing will be by appointment only.
Featuring costumes, furniture and some really random items from the film set, you’d be forgiven for giving up while browsing the online catalogue, such is the extent of lots listed.
It is better to use the online category search on the auction site, otherwise you could be there for hours looking at lots selling fabric, beads and threads – of which there are in excess of 400 lots alone.
I personally curated every part of it, so it's eclectic and huge
The entire collection is owned by Irish production designer, Philip Murphy, who also was the set designer for the series Penny Dreadful, for which he won a Bafta award.
“The series is a mishmash of genres; it depicts a feudal society headed up by different barons where technology had regressed and gone toward analogue. The influence is steampunk and definitely an Asian influence through all the martial arts, it’s all very colourful and vivid” says Murphy.
“I personally curated every part of it, so it’s eclectic and huge; there really is something in there for everyone” adds Murphy.
Eacrett will have two auctioneers working in shifts over the six days, with three further members of staff to monitor the online platforms. He is using Easylive.com, The Salesroom.com and Liveauctioneers.com for the online sale.
Buyers should be aware that these online sites incur a further fee in addition to the buyer’s premium of almost 25 percent (including VAT). Easylive has a system where you can register for a flat fee (normally €3) regardless of whether you purchase or not. But if you opt not to register for the flat fee, you can end up paying up to five percent more on top of the buyer’s premium.
In the case of Salesroom.com, which does not offer a flat fee registration, the premium can rise to a considerable 30.69 per cent on top of the hammer price, which, if you intend to buy one of the highlights – say a Daimler car with a reserve of €5,000 – the differential can be significant.
Eacrett offers telephone bidding for lots in excess of €100, so this is worth considering to save on the additional internet bidding fees.
The selection of items is completely random and includes 62 pieces of taxidermy (some of which are real and some of which are props) but lot 36, which is a very large prop of a life-size Maiasaura dinosaur on a plinth base (from Pilgrims Castle in the series) that stretches to over four metres in length and almost two metres in height, is certain to cause interest (€300–€500).
There is an abundance of bedlinen, cushions and soft furnishings in addition to furniture that includes the baronial seats (€100–€200 each), the dining table from Quinn’s Castle (€150-€250) and six retro chairs, also from his castle (€80-€120).
Mannequins feature as do 16 coffins, including an ornate copper coffin which is listed with a €100-€200 estimate.
There are over 130 lots of garden stuff, but the vast majority are fake plants. The taller ones may be of interest to restaurants who now need to divide up dining spaces in order to keep customer tables apart (€20–€40 per pair).
Top lots include a Daimler car (€3,000-€5,000), an AG Wagon (€6,000-€8,000) and the custom-built motorbike used by Sunny, the series protagonist played by Daniel Wu (€2,000-€3,000).
Lot 4,724 is a nice mahogany sleigh bed which is listed at €100-€200 though, by the looks of things, Eacrett might need it himself by the end of the six-day sale. See seaneacrettantiques.ie
