Pictures of Victorian terriers ratting and colonial Sahibs pig-sticking are among the highlights at Sheppard’s auction

THE FIRST major antiques auction of 2011 promises to be a blockbuster with a marvellous selection of period furniture and fine art spanning three centuries. A glossy catalogue for Sheppard’s auction house runs to 200 pages – so serious homework is required.

Some 1,200 items will be sold during four separate sessions next Tuesday and Wednesday, march 1st and 2nd, and viewing gets underway this afternoon at 2pm. The sale, titled Paradigms and the Unexpectedhas no shortage of the latter – from a Georgian, mahogany-cased campaign officer's shaving kit (€200-€300) to wonderfully evocative images of Kipling-esque, pith-helmeted sahibs pig-sticking in India during the British Raj (a set of six, by Snaffles (only €200-€300).

But more conventional offerings of period furniture, paintings and oriental ceramics are likely to attract significant interest. Auctioneer Michael Sheppard described a museum-quality table, estimated at €10,000-€15,000, as the most stylish piece of Killarney furniture he had ever seen.

Killarney furniture, popular in the 19th century, was made from arbutus wood which, although not native to Ireland, grows locally. The furniture was distinguished by intricate marquetry and this table features inlaid festoons of shamrock and cartouches depicting local beauty spots.

Architecture has suffered more than almost any other profession during this recession but there is still likely to be intense interest in an 18th century mahogany architects’ table which is estimated at €2,800-€3,600.

A stunning Regency period drum table – also known as a rent table, because the drawers in the revolving top were used as a filing system for rent collection – should appeal to latter-day landlords wishing to organise their affairs with an elegant flourish (€14,000-€18,000). An extensive selection of paintings features portraits of toffs, horses and hounds. Star lots include a thrilling Victorian painting of feisty terriers ratting and a superb range of equestrian pictures from a private Co Kildare collection.

Charles Simpson's Reynoldstown(winner of the 1936 Grand National) and Alfred Wheeler's Loreto will be greatly fancied, but the banker of the bunch may be a painting by William Tasker of Lester Piggott's great grandfather John Day Jnr saddled on Vulcan, a champion racehorse in 1842 (€2,000-€3,000).

Sheppard’s hit the headlines last year when its sale of a Co Carlow family’s trove of Chinese porcelain achieved sensational prices. Expect keen interest, therefore, especially from overseas, in Wednesday morning’s session devoted to Japanese and Chinese collectibles, including ceremonial swords, jade seals, Ming vases and bronze censers.

And there’s much, much more: from Cranberry glass to miniature paintings; Royal Doulton character jugs to Persian rugs.

The sale is brimming with the paraphernalia of generations born with a silver spoon. Viewing is thoroughly recommended. If you can’t get to the saleroom in Durrow, Co Laois, Sheppard’s is offering live online bidding. See sheppards.ie.