THERE WAS a time when bedroom suites could be bought for a song at auction. Those bulky wardrobes and dressing tables, with matching lockers and beds, seemed too daunting a prospect in a modern interior - most bedrooms just wouldn't have room to accommodate them.
So, they languished at the back of auction rooms and more often than not were sold as separate lots. Now, however, people seem to be catching on to the idea that a suite of quality bedroom furniture can be good value, and you don't have to use all the pieces in the same room. Subsequently, handsome suites are beginning to sell well at auction. At Mealys's sale in Castlecomer last Wednesday, an Adams style mahogany bedroom suite was the top selling lot of the day.
The six piece suite sold for £2,100, almost three times its lower estimate. This was a particularly good one, comprising a two door wardrobe, a tailboy chest, dressing table, bedside locker and two single beds. When you break down the cost, the sale price still represents good value for these solid mahogany pieces.
It was a busy day for Mealys, with around 800 lots going under the hammer and total sales of around £150,000.
The sale included some good quality reproduction furniture, and this proved popular. A set of 12 very handsome George III style, Gainsborough type open armchairs, with serpentineshaped padded backs, immaculately upholstered in a pale green material, sold for £2,000 - good value if you consider the cost of buying such chairs new.
Similarly, a set of 16 Georgian style dining chairs, upholstered in fawn coloured suede, was a good buy even at £1,500, over twice its lower estimate.
Lot 804, a substantial Victorian mahogany bookcase, made £1,600 under the hammer, while an elegant 19th century inlaid, satinwood, slope fronted knee hole desk, with a fully fitted interior, sold for £1,500.
A 19th century Burmese hardwood side cabinet sold for £1,150 and, from the same collection, a Burmese hardwood circular table, profusely carved with flower heads and birds, made £1,000.
A Victorian mahogany longcase clock, made by Frangley Brothers of Dublin, also made £1,000.
