Cork auction features antiques from convent and Bishopstown and Rochestown residences

Des O'Sullivan previews Woodward's first sale of 2026 in Cork

A Dublin-made bombe marquetry bureau and a large portrait of a lady with mask, both at Woodward's.

One of the more distinctive lots of furniture at Woodward’s auction in Cork next Saturday (February 7) is a bombe marquetry bureau.

The word bombe in furniture describes a curved front and or sides, and this bureau was made in Dublin around 1870 by PJ Walsh & Sons. Woodward’s estimates the piece at €2,000-€2,500.

A Dublin-made bombe marquetry bureau at Woodward's.

The sale, with contents from a Cork convent and residences in Rochestown and Bishopstown, offers antique furniture including a Georgian walnut chest-on-chest and a Georgian longcase clock by Houghtons of Handsworth, each estimated at €600-€1,000.

Portrait of a lady with a mask.

A Victorian library or serving table (€400-€600), a William IV teapoy (€600-€1,000), a crossbanded rosewood card table (€400-€600), an art deco conservatory table (€600-€1,000) and a Victorian three-tier dumb waiter (€400-€600) feature in a selection that includes art, glassware, a cast-iron garden bench and a large portrait of a lady carrying a mask. The sale is on afternoon view today (January 31) and tomorrow, and all next week.

The catalogue is online.