Country house collection sells for €4.5m

A table centrepiece at £343,250, a soup bowl at £159,000 and a mirror at £313,250 brought the tally for contents at Mt Congreve to £3.4m (€4.25m) at Christie’s in London.

The auction of 116 lots from the Co Waterford mansion in the Irish country house sale of the decade drew interest from around the world. It had been expected to bring in about £2.5m.

Another 900 lots will be auctioned by Christie’s and Mealy’s at Mt Congreve on July 10-11. Fine furniture, mirrors, chandeliers, and a Rolls Royce from the collection of the late Ambrose Congreve are yet to be sold.