House contents of Lotabeg under the hammer next month

The house contents of Lotabeg — a time capsule of long-hidden antique delights — will be auctioned by Mealy’s in Cork next month.

The graceful interiors of a house designed around 1800 by Abraham Hargrave — who came to Cork in 1791 to superintend the erection of St Patrick’s Bridge in the city centre — have been more or less untouched since 1939.

This elegant family home on Lower Glanmire Rd has yielded treasures like a life-size portrait of James Butler, first Duke of Ormonde by Peter Lely and Studio of Peter Lely (1618-1680), and a pair of valuable oils by David de Coninck (1644-1701).