Antiques: Revolving tractor seats and road signs point to our past

There's everything from an old AA road sign and a tractor stool to a bench by Sasha Sykes at two auctions next week 

An AA road sign at Aidan Foley's sale.

Collectibles and design are big business in the world of contemporary auctions in Ireland and sales by Aidan Foley in Kilcolgan, Co Galway, today and tomorrow and at de Veres in Dublin on Tuesday offer much to choose from. 

There is everything from an old AA road sign to Mullingar at Aidan Foley to an ivy bench by Sasha Sykes at de Veres.

The AA sign is a rarity in a sale with much in the way of automobilia and collectibles. A revolving tractor seat stool is the sort of lot that attracts much interest. So will a vintage tin Michelin Tyre Pressures sign, once a familiar sight in garages up and down Ireland. 

There are car badges and light-up forecourt signs, a tin plate advertising Will's Woodbine cigarettes and much in the way of advertising memorabilia. The live and online sale gets underway at noon today.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

The sale of classic 20th-century design furniture and Irish art at de Veres offers some cutting-edge Irish design alongside a selection of major international designers like Mies van der Rohe, Ingmar Relling, Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames, Rolf Benz and Ligne Roset. 

The ivy bench by Sasha Sykes at de Veres.

The ivy bench by Irish sculptural furniture maker Sasha Sykes is an acrylic and resin piece from an artist who explores the material language of the natural world and is influenced by the Irish landscape. 

The sale is on now view at Kildare Street in Dublin and gets underway at 2pm on Tuesday.