THE Heritage Council has succeeded in stopping the sale of a number of valuable antiques from Headfort House, Co Meath, which were due to be auctioned at Christies in London today.
An eleventh hour deal was agreed last night which guarantees that the house's main furniture pieces remain in Ireland.
Funding for the bid was provided by the Heritage Council, the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, and the National Museum. Mr Michael Starrett of the Heritage Council declined to reveal the exact sum agreed but admitted that the estimated valuation of £138,000 was not far off.
The items secured include a pair of large mirrors; a marble top table; an Irish oak table; a pair of giltwood tables; two clothes presses and a pair of giltwood pier glasses, based on a Robert Adam design and valued at about £50,000. The Irish bidders were unable to buy a number of smaller items.
Extensive negotiations took place over the past few days between Mr Starrett, Christie's in London and its Irish representative, the Knight of Glin. Only late last night was a verbal agreement reached. Minor details have still to be worked out this morning.
Mr Starrett said he was "extremely relieved" by the outcome, describing the deal as "very reasonable." He said it would have been a tragedy if the furniture had been lost to the State.
"There should be mechanisms which prevent this kind of thing from happening. As an independent body we will be making strong representations to the Government to stress the need for the listing of interiors to strengthen the protection of our architectural heritage", he laid.
Instructions to sell the furniture had been given by the board of governors at Headfort School, which was trying to raise funds for restoration work at the house.
After being shipped to London, most of the furniture will now return to the house, which was built in the 1760s and is just outside Kells. The future of some of the purchased items has yet be confirmed, although there were assurances they will be housed in Ireland.
