A REGENCY-style mahogany serpentine-fronted pedestal desk achieved the top price of the day at a recent auction at Woodwards of Cork, selling for £2,200 under the hammer. In the same sale, a watercolour by Frank Egginton - Country Road near Letterkenny - fetched £1,900.

Other prices were: a Victorian mahogany D-end extending dining table, with two extra leaves, £1,400; an Irish Georgian mahogany peat bucket, £1,300; a Masons ironstone dinner service, comprising 230 pieces, £1,200; and a 130-piece London silver cutlery service, £1,100.

A set of four Louis XVI-style gilt armchairs made £800 and a pair of Victorian mahogany hall chairs fetched £750. An Edwardian inlaid mahogany bow-fronted display cabinet, with lead glazed doors and sides, was knocked down at £720.