An auction of work from some of Ireland's best known artists raised nearly €300,000 last night for charities responding to the Asian tsunami disaster.
However, while the organisers were delighted with the overall success of the event, the surprise of the evening was the failure to sell a limited edition lithograph by the Prince of Wales.
The piece, which is one of 15 such artist's proofs, depicts the north aspect of Windsor Castle and is initialled by Prince Charles himself.
It was donated to the auction by Unislim Ireland which had bought the same piece for £50,000 in 1998 at an auction in aid of the Omagh bomb appeal.
A condition of Unislim's donation was that it must sell for at least €30,000 and at last night's auction in the Royal Hibernian Academy, there were no takers.
"We were disappointed whenever any piece didn't sell and we thought this one might do well but I thought it was reasonable to put a reserve price on it," said Mr Fergus Ahern, who organised the event.
Mr Ahern added that the piece was still available for sale through De Veres Art Auctions in Dublin.
The auction raised nearly €300,000 for various relief funds despite the fact that a large number of the 330 lots did not fetch the minimum asking price.
"It looked bleak at first but it took off at the end and I think we have done well," he said.