Antiques: A bull, a bookcase and a portrait of Jane Austen's grandniece at Stradbally Hall auction

Des O'Sullivan previews a sale of great variety with Irish country-house provenance

A George III Adam breakfront bookcase from Temple House at Sheppard's.

A Killarney davenport exhibited at the RDS in the 19th century, a Cork silver coffee pot, a micromosaic panel of the Doves of Pliny, the Farnese Bull and a French Empire eagle standard are among the collective delights at the Sheppard's Stradbally Hall sale in Co Laois on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 19-20).

The emphasis is on Irish country house provenance in an auction of great variety and more than 1,200 lots. It is on view at Stradbally Hall from today.

The most expensively estimated lots are a bronze,  The Farnese Bull, from the workshop of Antonio Susini (1543-1632) in Florence (€50,000-€80,000), a landscape dated 1792 by Claude Louis Chatelet (€45,000-€65,000), a pair of George III satinwood-and-marquetry cabinets on stands attributed to Ince and Mayhew (€40,000-€60,000), a Killarney davenport by James Egan purchased at the RDS exhibition in 1864 by the Corcoran family of Wexford (€40,000-€60,000) and a c1780 Adam breakfront bookcase from Temple House, Co Sligo (€40,000-€60,000). 

The Flemish scene by David Teniers the Younger featured on these pages last Saturday has been withdrawn.

A baluster-form dragon vase.

Much more affordable, and highly collectible, is a 19th century grand tour micromosaic panel of doves after the celebrated Roman model of the Doves of Pliny in a gilt frame (€500-€800), a William IV rosewood and mother-of-pearl tea caddy (€150-€250) and a Napoleonic gilt bronze eagle standard from Dirk House in Co Limerick (€500-€800) with provenance to Jean-Baptiste Lynch, Count of the first French Empire, Mayor of Bordeaux and peer of France who inherited the Chateau Lynch estate in 1779.

An exhibition Killarney davenport by James Egan.

The 18th-century Cork silver coffee pot is of baluster form. Made by Carden Terry, it is estimated at €8,000-€12,000. Lot 242 is an 18th-century portrait miniature of Lady Dunraven (€800-€1,200). 

John Joseph Slattery's portrait of Norah Hill, Jane Austen's Irish-born grandniece.

A portrait of Norah Hill (1835-1920), Jane Austen's Irish-born grandniece, painted by John Joseph Slattery, is estimated at €3,000-€5,000. 

A 19th-century neo-classical statuary and white marble chimneypiece from Seafield House, Donabate, is estimated at €5,000-€8,000 and an Adam chimneypiece is estimated at €8,000-€12,000.

A limited-edition pair of lifesize Kingsale hounds with bronze mounts on bases (€10,000-€15,000) heads up 67 lots of garden and outdoor pieces.

There is an estimate of €30,000-€50,000 on an 18th-century Irish mahogany side table. complete with lion mask. 

A pair of Irish William IV rosewood-and-gilt side tables (€20,000-€30,000), a Georgian two-pillar dining table (€8,000-€12,000), and a William IV inverted breakfront serving table (€10,000-€15,000) hark back to the country-house elegance of former times.

There is much to choose from in furniture, from a Chinese Chippendale-style four-poster bed (€3,000-€5,000) and an 18th-century Hepplewhite breakfront secretaire (€7,000-€9,000) to a Georgian brass-bound plate bucket (€800-€1,200) and a pair of French Empire mahogany and parcel gilt torchéres (€800-€1,200). 

There are four classic cars, a Porsche 944 turbo, a 1997 Bentley Brooklands, a Lotus Elan and an Alfa Romeo sprinter. With estimates from €20 up, the catalogue will reward a long, slow perusal. The auction will take place at Stradbally Hall and online. It is divided into four segments for the convenience of buyers.