In the fickle furniture market, quality and rarity continue to bring in the big bucks
This set of five Irish 18th century leather fire buckets made £82,550 at Christie's in London.
The antique furniture market remains fickle. Unless you happen to have something rare, unusual and once-off, like a fine 18th century Irish side table, good Killarney wood or a piece by a famous designer you must take your chances.
At home and abroad quality antique furniture by known makers commands high prices. The caveat continues to be that beautiful antique furniture which is unsigned and of unknown origin does not. Time to get off your screens and phones Gen Y and Z and see the value to be had in high quality built to last ecologically sound and wonderfully patinated old furniture.
Gorgeous Irish furniture lots on offer during the year included a fine mid-18th century Irish George II side table from Ardbraccan House in Co Meath. The Palladian mansion was home for over a decade to celebrated interior designer Serena Williams Ellis, who likes a house to smile, and her partner Charles Noell. The table sold for £76,200 at Christie's in London.
At Adams Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall an Irish 18th century mahogany side table made €38,000 and an Irish George III giltwood mirror made €36,000.
More Killarney furniture than usual came on to the Irish market this year. It was sought after and made good prices. Six of the top ten lots at Adams Irish Vernacular sale in September, headed by a davenport which made €12,000 at hammer, were Killarney pieces. At their Coolattin House sale Sheppards sold a Killarney library table and a davenport for €13,000 each. A 19th century Killarney davenport made €14,000 at Victor Mee's sale of contents from the Convent of Mercy in Newry and a Killarney centre table for €8,000. Killarney davenport desks come in various sizes and Victor Mee achieved €14,400 for one at his heritage auction. A Killarney sewing table made €10,000 at R J Keighery in Waterford.
It was an interesting year for pub interiors. The entire West End bar fitting from Portadown sold for €120,000 at Victor Mee. Lynes and Lynes sold the interior of Reidy's Wine Vault bar in Cork as one lot for €73,000 and the stained mahogany bar counter from the Olympia Theatre in Dublin made €10,000 at Adams.
In May, a rare 1860s oak harp clock by John Donegan, one of only eight known, made €16,500 at hammer at R J Keighery in Waterford. Just last month a brick lacquer screen by Eileen Gray made a hammer price of €9,500 at Adams. A Transat chair in grey leather by Eileen Gray made €4,600 at de Veres.
A collaborative table and chess set made by David Linley and Graham Knuttel made €40,000 at Adams.
Prices like this do not tell anything like the whole story. During 2026, buyers at local auctions snapped up an Irish Georgian mahogany serving table for just €360, a 19th century foldover card table for €300, a c1830 mahogany longcase clock for €400, an Edwardian bow fronted display cabinet for €60, a Victorian dressing table for €60 and a Victorian cylinder bookcase for €90. These actual hammer prices from various auction houses give a clear picture of the value to be had.
There is a growing market for mid-century modern furniture and auction houses like de Veres conduct regular design sales with international designers like Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, Philippe Starck, Finn Juhl, Arne Vodder and many others.
Among some notable prices during the year were a pair of George III D-shaped commodes in the manner of William Moore which made €15,000 at Adams. The same auction house sold a bespoke oak shaker style cabinet designed by the architect Shane de Blacam for €7,000 over a top estimate of €400. A ten-foot-long Irish Georgian wake table made €21,500 at Victor Mee. At Sheppards, a 19th-century credenza with Vernis Martin panels made €11,500 and a pair of 19th-century Boulle, ebony and ormolu-mounted side cabinets sold for €22,000 at hammer.
At Christie's in Paris, a desk from the early 18th century attributed to André Charles Boulle sold for €486,400. With the best quality, the sky is the limit.
