A Cork house filled to the brim with objects collected with discrimination

Looking out at Fountainstown by Anna O'Hara at Sheppards.

ANTIQUE Persian rugs, furniture, and decorative objects sourced at auctions in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s at Kilroan House in Glanmire will come under the hammer at Sheppard’s on March 24 and 25.

Some of the rugs were acquired at the dispersal sale of Malahide Castle in the mid 1970s and there is furniture from Adare Manor and other prominent Irish and English country houses from when their contents came to market.

A large antique Caucasian rug at Sheppards.

Kilroan is brimful of lots collected with discrimination over many decades along with family heirlooms that reach way back. Viewing gets underway at the former family home of Mrs Rosemary Punch and her late husband John in Glanmire on March 21. After three days of viewing in Cork on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday week, the live and online auction will be held over the following two days in Durrow.

Auctioneer Michael Sheppard describes this as an exceptionally layered collection. Many of the Persian rugs were acquired at Malahide Castle. Sturdy oak furniture in the house has a timeless appeal. Carved oak pieces offer ultimate sustainability and versatility. The selection available here is plentiful and ranges from panelled oak coffers and trunks to armchairs, a court cupboard, and refectory tables. Oak is sought these days both by traditionalists and those seeking to make modern minimalist interiors.

Map; The Harbour of Corke sold by Mount and Thos. Page at Tower Hill, London at Sheppards.

At Kilroan, which has been sold, furniture was selected for quality and character. Practical 18th-century oak and mahogany pieces sit comfortably alongside more unusual and expressive objects — like a metamorphic library pole which is both functional and a statement piece, a Regency crossbanded sofa table, a yew wood library table, a Regency inlaid cellarete, and a Regency ebony and parcel gilt open bookcase.

Among the rare early books is a 17th-century translation of Homer’s Iliad, along with books on gardening and early maps of Ireland. An iron-bound oak rent box is a 17th century piece.

The collection of clocks includes an 18th century oak longcase clock by James Aickin, and an 18th-century longcase clock by Maddock of Waterford. There are plenty of clocks to choose from, including a 19th-century boulle inlaid bracket clock, a 19th- century French gilt and marble figural mantel clock, a skeleton clock, and a 19th-century barograph.

An 18th century oak longcase clock by James Aickin, Cork at Sheppards.

Decorative garden ornaments, seats, and urns, accumulated over many years, are available — along with an exceptional group of terracotta rhubarb forcers.

The late John Punch’s workshop is largely as he maintained it. There are engineering and woodworking machines including a Myford Super 7 centre lathe, an earlier Drummond Bros metal lathe, a Meddings pillar drill, and a Scheppach planer–thicknesser. These are presented along with tools, fittings, and sections of old panelling salvaged from the dismantled RMS Celtic — which foundered off Roches Point in December 1928.

Silver on offer includes provincial Cork silver, and fine 18th-century Dublin silver. Two 19th-century portraits — traditionally believed to depict John Punch and his wife — have long presided over the dining room.

A painting of Dublin Bay by Nathaniel Hone the Younger is accompanied by a presentation plaque, recording that it was gifted to John Punch in the 1840s.

This is a comprehensive dispersal auction with appeal to all sorts of collectors. The catalogue lists more than 1,300 lots from the Punch collection and other clients.