High prices for mundane items are expected today at the contents auction of Lissadell House, Co Sligo, where over 600 lots of furniture, paintings and objects go under the hammer.
While sources in the antiques trade agree that the Lissadell sale is short on quality - one went as far as to describe it as "rubbish with some notable exceptions", this is unlikely to deter buyers wanting to take away something from one of Ireland's great houses.
Almost 4,000 people viewed the house over the weekend, and yesterday HOK Fine Art and Christies representatives were inundated with telephone bids, according to spokeswoman Ms Claire McGoldrick.
There are some historically important items on offer, including the handcuffs used to restrain Countess Markievicz when she spent some time in prison after 1916 and again in the early 1920s. They're estimated at €300 - €500. A Yeats first edition book of poetry signed and dedicated to Eva Gore-Booth is also likely to attract interest and may make well over its guide price of €10,000 to €15,000.
However, much of the furniture and fittings are considered second rate by experts who say the Gore-Booths are holding on to the best furniture and paintings from the house. Most of the truly valuable furniture and paintings belonging to the Gore-Booth family are being retained, or have already been shipped to their UK home.
What the sale does have is plenty of bric a brac, with the attics, outhouses, store rooms, gun room, butler's quarters kitchens and sculleries providing an ideal hunting ground for collectors. What price a collection of tin buckets, a pile of 1830s curtain rings or a shelf or two of mildewed books? Probably a good deal more than they are worth, according to Mr James O'Halloran of James Adam fine art auctioneers.
"There are sure to be lots of people there looking for a souvenir from the house," he said. "But people shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that just because it is from a famous house that it will hold its value."
"If an item has a connection with Yeats or the Gore-Booths it will keep its value, but it has to be a quality item. An ordinary piece of furniture will be just that once it is removed from Lissadell," he added.
Central to the auction is a collection of furniture that was made for the house by one of the great firms of Irish cabinet makers, Williams & Gibton of Dublin. The furniture was designed to complement the Grecian architecture and unusual chimneypieces, to fit in with the house's austere design. From the drawingroom a pair of Irish William IV mahogany bookcases are expected to fetch €30,000 to €50,000 while the diningroom table has a top estimate of €60,000.
Expectations that the Government might contribute towards retaining the contents of Lissadell House have now been ruled out, as the new owners, barristers Mr Eddie Walsh SC and his wife, Ms Constance Cassidy SC, admitted that the Exchequer seems unlikely to intervene. Mr Walsh had been lobbying ministers including Mr Martin Cullen and Mr Charlie McCreevy to contribute towards the purchase of furniture and artefacts which have been in the house since the mid-1800s. However, his plea appears to have gone unheard and he now admits that there is a "one in ten" chance of Government assistance.
Mr Walsh and Ms Cassidy will be among the bidders today. They have identified 250 items that they see as being central to the maintenance of the house as a key tourist attraction for Sligo.
