Historic cabinet brought back to Waterford for €35k

A cabinet decorated 200 years ago with tiny animals made in the first glass factory in Waterford will be back on display in the city after being bought for close to €35,000.

At auction in Exeter, south-west England, the Waterford Museum of Treasures beat other bidders to secure the shell-decorated piece made by the daughter of William Penrose, who co-founded the Waterford Glass House in 1783.

The £23,000 (€28,000) hammer price — before auction fees and taxes of nearly €7,000 were added — was more than the combined price paid earlier yesterday for a collection of more than 70 pieces which came down through five generations to descendants of the Penrose family.