Irish side table sells for £225,200 at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions
A record breaking sale of ‘Fine Furniture and Works of Art’ saw an Irish George II side table achieve £225,200 today ( Wednesday 13th November) at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions’ Donnington Priory Saleroom in Berkshire, the highest price for a piece of furniture sold at auction outside of London this year.
A dealer in Irish furniture successfully outbid buyers on the internet and in the room to take home the mahogany side table (pictured). It had once stood among the original furnishings of architect Francis Johnston’s ‘classical masterpiece’, Townley Hall, Louth, built in 1799 for the Townley Balfour Family.
The present table is closely related to examples believed to have been supplied to the 5th Earl of Antrim for Glenarm Castle. In their book Irish Furniture, Desmond FitzGerald, Knight of Glen and James Peill (Yale University Pree 2007) suggest that their sophistication points to Dublin as their place of manufacture.
Although pre-dating Johnston’s building, the table, circa 1750, had lion mask decoration flanked by swags bearing a striking resemblance to friezes from Johnston’s Townley Hall.
Will Richards, Deputy Chairman of Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions stated: “With a lot of pre-sale interest in the George II side-table we knew it would be the highlight of the auction but are thrilled with today’s remarkable result.”
Also exceeding its pre-sale estimate of £6,000-9,000, was an ivory sculpture of a Faun (pictured) which sold for £22,320. From the late 17th or early 18th century, and originating from the epicentre of ivory production in Europe, the impressive faun, posed in Bacchic revelry, towered over others like it at almost 60cm tall.
Listing of all the prices realised in the auction are available on our website www.dnfa.com.
