A MARBLE chimneypiece believed to have been made by Bossi fetched £23,000 at Denis Drum's recent auction in Malahide. Several parties in the room competed with a telephone bidder from London for the white marble piece, which is decorated with amber and green scagliola and panels of garlanded leaves.

Mr Drum had been quoting a rather low pre auction guide of £8,000-£12,000 for the chimneypiece, given its good provenance. It had been stored in a house in Malahide for many years, but the owner remembered his father buying it from a house in Merrion Square, Dublin. It was eventually knocked down to an Irish bidder.

On the same evening, a fine Napoleon III arch top gilt mirror sold for £1,350; a Victorian wall clock, dated 1900, made by Chancellor of Dublin, made £1,050; a pair of Victorian gentlemen's armchairs sold for £1,300; and a solid cherrywood games table, with marble square insets, fetched £1,000. A Georgian rail fender with finials made £900 and a serpentine rosewood and marble hall table was knocked down at £750.