Mullens’ Laurel Park saleroom is actually a stone’s throw from the busy N11/M50 interchange at Bray, but the idyllic setting gives the impression of being well off the beaten track in the depths of rural Ireland. And there’s music for the ears inside the saleroom too, as Joe Mullen shows off a number of pianos which will go under the hammer at Mullens’ Interior and Garden sale on Monday (June 12th).
A black lacquer Kawai boudoir grand looks particularly stylish, as well it might since it would originally have sold for €10,000 (Lot 451, estimate €3,000- €4,000); there’s also a mahogany-cased Collard & Collard instrument (Lot 48, €800-€1,200) and a Steinmann baby grand (Lot 230, €300-€400).
Grand is the theme of this auction, which features a number of pieces from a couple of Dublin 4 “grand” houses whose owners are downsizing. Good news for anyone in search of mirrors, chandeliers, chimney-pieces, Persian runners or dining chairs – there’s a smart set of eight Georgian style mahogany chairs including two carvers (Lot 256, estimate €450-€550) as well as a set of 14 chairs upholstered in a velvet floral fabric with colours as rich as any of this season’s on-trend florals (Lot 252, €1,800-€2,600).
Victorian and Georgian furniture is great value at the moment, Mullen says, and he has a number of fine 19th-century pieces including a serpentine-shaped console table (Lot 7, €2,800-€3,000), a walnut fold-over games table (Lot 412, €650-€750) and a mahogany secretaire bookcase with moulded half-pilasters
(Lot 4, €1,600-€2,200). For sheer elegance it would be hard to beat a kingwood and marquetry inlaid ladies’ writing table on cabriole legs (Lot 260, €3,000-€4,000).
A German dish-seat mahogany and leather rocking chair would sit comfortably in any style of house (Lot 259, €400-€600) while a pair of V’Soske Joyce wool rugs in ice-blue with yellow borders would dress a couple of adjoining dining and drawing rooms in timeless style (Lots 58 and 491, €2,000-€2,500 each).
For those in search of affordable paintings there's a wide choice from a tranquil early Sean McSweeney, Evening Sky (Lot 465, €1,500-€2,000), to a Wild Atlantic Way-style coastal scene attributed to Letitia Marian Hamilton (Lot 319, €400-€600).
The garden is catered for with a selection of bronze and sandstone sculptures, pots in terracotta and cast-iron and some attractive seating, including an unusual set of four matching cast-iron benches with acorn and leaf design and slatted seats, being sold separately but with an option to bid for them all together (Lots 687 to 690, €500-€800 each) as well as a set of four cast-iron garden chairs, each one with a plaque depicting a different season (Lot 739, €800-€1,200).
In short, something for everyone. But surely, you’ll be thinking, this auction doesn’t have an elaborately-carved hardwood Indian elephant? Actually, it does. Lot 290 stands 104 centimetres tall, and carries an estimate of €600-€800.
Mullens Laurel Park, Woodbrook, Bray. Interior and Garden sale, Monday (June 12th), 11am. Viewing today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm and Monday 9am-11am. mullenslaurelpark.com
