Adam's Country House Sale at Slane

For the fourth consecutive year, Adam's Auctioneers will play host to thousands of bargain hunters and antique enthusiasts at Slane Castle as they look to preview The Country House Collection Sale from Saturday 6th until Tuesday 9th October, when the auction takes place. Comprising a unique assemblage of furnishings, including major Irish pieces, works of art and decorative arts from Irish country houses, displayed in the unique setting inside Slane Castle, the 700 lot sale offers something for everyone with prices ranging from €30 up to €30,000. The sale emphasis is on fine furniture of Irish interest alongside silver, glass, porcelain and pictures with many items coming from old Irish families including the Lefroys of Carrigglas Manor in Co. Longford. This Huguenot family can trace their roots to northeastern France in the 16th Century but it was in the 18th century that their family began its Irish connection. Colonel Anthony Peter Lefroy, who when stationed with his regiment, the 16th Light Dragoons in Limerick, met and married Anne Gardiner.

The following generations established a fine country house on an estate at Carrig Glas, Co. Longford which until recently remained in the Lefroy family. The Carrigglass collection of antique furniture, fine silver, old master paintings and porcelain included in the sale was put together by the various generations of Lefroys and this selection gives an excellent flavour of the richness, and of the eclectic furnishings of this house which nevertheless acquired the well-worn and comfortable patina of an old family home. James O'Halloran, Adam's Managing Director, said, 'Adam's annual Country House Collections sale at Slane Castle promises a unique look into the old Irish country house and its family histories, and the contents of Carrigglas Manor do not disappoint.

The most notably Lefroy, Thomas Langlois Lefroy (1776-1869) is celebrated as the man who broke Jane Austen's heart and inspired her novel Pride and Prejudice. He went on to become a successful lawyer and ultimately Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. 'A number of lots in the sale display connections between the Lefroys and the Italian side of the family, which date back to the early 18th Century. One lot, No.170 a George IV centre table with an inset black and grey marble top was given to the Lefroys to celebrate the completion of Carrigglas Manor by their Italian relations who owned the Carrara marble quarries. The black and grey striated marble used for the tabletop is a particularly rare outcrop of the deposit.

This fine table is estimated at €10,000. Another Italian piece is an amboyna wood circular table with a spectacular inlaid marble top. Sadly this fine table has been through the wars and is in need of considerable restoration including the marble top but thankfully the magnificent centerpiece of the top is intact, displaying the very best of Italian craftsmanship with five exotic butterflies on a black background. Even in its distressed state it is still estimated at €3000.' A number of the paintings on offer from Carrig Glas are important and interesting too, most notably the classical river landscape with ruins by early 18th century Dutch artist, Willem van der Hagen who is recorded as living and working in Ireland in the early 1720s and who is regarded as being the father of Irish classical landscape painting.

This large work on canvas is also signed and dated rather indistinctly and is estimated at €20,000/30,000. Another Dutch old master from Carrigglas is the stormy seascape with fishing boat and British 'Man of War' in the background and attributed to Willem van de Velde, the younger. This dramatic painting in a spectacular period gilt wood frame is estimated at €5000/8000. A marvelous piece of furniture from another 18th century Irish house is also featured in the sale, this one being a marble topped side table from Drumcondra House in Dublin. The table dates back to the early 18th century and was designed by the architect, Sir Edward Lovett Pearce who also designed the house, which was built for Sir Marmaduke Coghill in 1726/27.

The table features a carved lion's mask and huge leaf capped legs on equally large paw feet. The table is estimated at €8000. A mirror, which comes from the English stately home of the Dukes of Buckingham at Wooton is amongst the oldest pieces in the sale. Dated to circa 1710 and attributed to John Gumley and James Moore, this large giltwood framed mirror is estimated at €30,000. It came to Ireland when Wootton House was sold and has been in the same family ever since. Other paintings of interest include an important portrait of the Irish 18th Century Playwright William Congreve by Garret Morphy (d.1716). Congreve grew up in Youghal, Co. Cork and after Kilkenny School he entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he developed his friendship with Jonathan Swift which was to last a lifetime.

This charming portrait which displays Congreve in a reclining pose in a landscape and which up until now was considered lost, is estimated at €8000. Silverware is well represented in the sale with over 100 lots. Two exquisite pieces of early 19th Century silverware have equestrian links - The Meath Challenge Cup from 1837 and the Westmeath Challenge Urn from 1834. Both cups are magnificently decorated with horse finials, one having twin horse handles and both with repoussé racing scenes. The slightly smaller Meath cup is estimated at €7,000 while the Westmeath urn is estimated at €10,000. James O'Halloran concludes: 'All told this is a spectacular sale with wonderful objects, art and furnishings for those with an eye for quality and good value. The auction is a refreshing change to the traditions of the saleroom with furniture and collectables displayed to their greatest potential, in period-like interior settings, laid out room by room.

We expect a good attendance over the coming days as this event is a rare opportunity for the budding collector to be inspired as well as bargain hunt among the 700-strong country collectable lots. Viewing takes place this coming Saturday 6th October, Sunday 7th and all day Monday 8th with the auction scheduled for Tuesday 9th October, commencing at 10.30am at Slane Castle, Co. Meath. Admission to the viewing is by catalogue only, priced at €20, (admits two).