Salvage: From Viking longboats to fighter pilot ejector seats

Salvage sales offer plenty of scope for interior and exterior styling. Des O'Sullivan previews Victor Mee's three-day sale 

Longboats from the Vikings: Valhalla TV drama at Victor Mee.

If a full-sized replica of a Viking longboat is what you really, really want then Victor Mee’s three-day sale in Belturbet and online next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (October 17, 18 and 19) is the place to be. Not one but two such longboats feature in the auction, each estimated at €10,000-€20,000.

With 1,348 lots on offer in a remarkable sale drawn from the BG Salvage yard at Naas, the diverse range features a Buccaneer fighter jet pilot ejector seat and cockpit cover, bronze ship horns converted to table lamps, retro chrome and upholstered swivel chairs, a chemist and optician sign from Disney’s Disenchanted, hand-painted wooden panels from the film Braveheart and whatever you are having yourself.

A Brunswick-style ebonised bar counter at Victor Mee.

Salvage comes in all shapes and forms so there is plenty to explore here, for both interior and exterior use.

Along with offering basic salvaged items, BG Salvage is a resource for film, TV and stage productions in search of props and decor. The working longboats, measuring 46 feet and 49 feet respectively, are from the filming of the TV drama series Vikings: Valhalla. Also from this series is an oriental table decorated with fu dogs and 19th-century benches.

There is a French gilded gesso room originally from a French chateau and a chemist and opticians signs from Disney’s Disenchanted. Among the film props are painted panels from Braveheart, a gothic angel from Reign of Fire, and a timber and glass shop front from Penny Dreadful.

A pair of 18th-century painted pine doors with carved panels at Victor Mee.

The large selection of more than 400 furniture lots includes gilded armchairs from Carton House, stained pine armchairs from The Tudors TV series, bar stools with leather upholstered seats and retro chrome swivel chairs.

There is a Brunswick-style ebonised bar counter with mirrored back and glass panels, a painted hardwood shop cabinet with eight glazed doors above a bank of 40 drawers, and a pair of 18th-century painted pine doors.

A pair of chrome swivel chairs at Victor Mee.

You’ll also find 19th-century pitch pine doors with copper and glass panels, bronze sculptures, bronze lamps with reeded panels, a heavily carved tribal throne chair, blacksmith forged railings, a 19th-century Irish pine kitchen table and a good selection of architectural items from marbleised plaster Corinthian columns to onyx pedestals and a fibreglass wall panel depicting a Knight Templar and a wooden porthole window.

There is a viewing at BG Salvage in Naas from noon to 5pm today and tomorrow and the online auction gets underway at 5.30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Bandon, Hegarty’s offers a selection of antique furniture, Asian ceramics, bronzes, silver and jewellery in a live online sale on Tuesday evening, October 17. The catalogue is online.