Everything from dinosaurs to dining sets at two summer sales

Des O'Sullivan finds plenty to enhance spaces indoors and outdoors at a garden sale in Cavan and an online event by James Adam

Left, a statue for your garden at Victor Mee, top right and below right, a library table and mirror at James Adam, centre, an obelisk at Victor Mee.

Home or garden? The choice is yours at two appetising sales next week, the At Home online sale at James Adam in Dublin on Wednesday (June 11) and the two-day summer garden sale by Victor Mee in Cavan on the evenings of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Top lots at Adam's range from Playing in the Sand (€4,000-€6,000), a lovely summer scene by Dorothea Sharp (1874-1955, through a Louis Quinze ormolu-mounted longcase clock (€3,000-€5,000), an Irish Regency oval beaded wall mirror (€3,000-€5,000) and a Milkmaid pattern Irish silver tea set (€2,500-€3,500).

A wrought-iron glasshouse in Victorian style, complete with modern accoutrements like remote control glass and automated vents (€18,000-€22,000) leads the offerings at Victor Mee. 

A Regency oval beaded mirror at James Adam.

Lifesize bronze sculptures of a horse and jockey and a galloping horse are estimated at €10,000-€20,000 each, while bronze-effect statues on pedestals of The Four Seasons, a bronze fountain with Mercury and a pair of 19th-century wrought-iron entrance gates are all estimated at €8,000-€12,000.

One of the more unusual At Home lots, for use when away, is a complete set of early 20th-century 40 nautical signal flags. Originally drafted in 1855, the code is an international system of signals used by ships to convey important information on safety and navigation. The flags are in a fitted timber case with brass carrying handles and are estimated at €400-€600.

With more than 500 lots, the last At Home sale before the summer features a diverse range of home objects, including a pair of brass-framed circular hall lanterns, an Edwardian club fender, and a pair of 19th-century Sitzendorf porcelain wall sconces. 

A bleached timber library table at James Adam.

There are lots of chairs like sofas and Chesterfields, a set of eight Windsor-style oak and elmwood kitchen chairs, a pair of French 19th-century two-seater settees, a pair of red leather wingback armchairs, a George II walnut armchair, a pair of library armchairs, green leather button back chairs, a set of c1820s provincial Irish dining chairs along with Victorian and Edwardian dining chair sets.

Among the artworks on offer are two botanical watercolours by Wendy Walsh and Cattle Watering by Thomas Sydney Cooper. A pair of giltwood and marble figural console tables, a bleached timber library table, Georgian and Regency dining tables, side tables and card tables feature along with collectables like silver, clock sets and a Baccarat three-light candelabra.

At Victor Mee's sale, you will find exceptional urns and planters, a private collection of antique stone troughs and an obelisk gifted by the Chinese government to the Hely-Hutchinson family at Knocklofty House in Clonmel. The two-day sale features over 850 lots of garden statuary, furniture and architectural features.

An obelisk gifted by the Chinese government at Victor Mee.

There is a focus too on animal garden statuary with an emphasis on native Irish wildlife. This is an area of collection which the team at Victor Mee has noted is growing in popularity as animal sculptures are increasingly used to add character and whimsy to Irish gardens. 

Among the offerings are hares dancing, a lifesize bronze sheep, bronze pigs, a cast-iron red squirrel and a pair of boxing hares. 

A raptor for your garden at Victor Mee.

More exotic creatures include a bronze elephant with a Dali-style decoration and a bronze statue of a Tyrannosaurus rex. As always, there is a good selection of antique and vintage outdoor furniture. Catalogues for both sales are online.