Rare furniture, tigers’ heads and ancient sharks’ teeth to feature in Sheppard’s sale

Furniture from the recently sold Pouldrew House in Waterford – a property that Priscilla Presley, the former wife of Elvis, was reputed to have offered to buy from its owner, the late Dr Jan Mohamed – will feature in Sheppard's forthcoming live sale.

Top items in the sale – of more than 2,000 lots, to be sold May 9th-12th – are a dining table with 10 chairs plus a cabinet by Cork furniture maker Joseph Walsh. These items, which are expected to fetch €80,000-€120,000 and €35,000-€50,000 respectively, and come from a private collection and not from Pouldrew itself, will be a good litmus test of the maker, who has a keen following among collectors worldwide. His work has fared well on the secondary market: a unique ash Enignum X dining table (listed with an £80,000-£120,000 estimate), achieved £316,000 (including fees), and a unique ash Erosion table (with the same estimate) sold for £93,750 through Sotheby's in 2018 and 2017 respectively. The pieces in Sheppard's sale are in black walnut and sycamore (chairs and cabinet) with a silver inlay on the black walnut table.

Joseph Walsh table and chairs, listed at €80,000-€120,000

Joseph Walsh cabinet, listed at €35,000-€55,000

From Pouldrew House, where legend has it that a 40-carat ruby ring lies in the estate's lake, are two Chinese Qing dynasty hardwood palace cabinets with dragon-carved doors (€20,000-€30,000). Dr Mohamed came from Singapore to work at University Hospital Waterford, and became the first practitioner of acupuncture and Chinese medicine in Ireland. Priscilla Presley used to bring her daughter, the late Lisa Marie – who died in January aged just 54 – to Dr Mohamed for acupuncture. Also from his collection is a second World War Crimes Registry pewter tankard, which was signed by the members of the war crimes investigation team at the Goodwood Park Hotel in Singapore, December 1945 (€500-€800).

The sale has two Chinese Qing dynasty hardwood palace cabinets with dragon carved doors (€20,000-€30,000 apiece)

Megalodon shark teeth

If you’re in search of a mirror, the sale has 32 of them in all shapes and sizes, from the large but simple 19th-century gilt-framed overmantle models from Pouldrew (€1,500-€2,500) to Regency models (€1,200-€1,800) and a rather elaborate 19th-century profusely carved oval plate nestled on a leaf scroll (€3,000-€5,000).

Carpets and rugs are well represented, with more than 50 offerings, including Persian silks, Donegal runners and a mid-20th century Donegal carpet estimated at €4,500-€5,500, while the lighting section has a good number of brass, ormolu and bronze hall lanterns in various styles.

The 20 lots of taxidermy serve as a reminder of why we now have protected species, and offerings here include a case of exotic birds (€800-€1,200); an elephant's foot (€300-€500); a white bearskin rug (€2,000-€3,000); a lion-skin rug (€500-€800); and a number of mounted tiger heads, €200-€2,500.

A number of megalodon sharks’ teeth date from 10-15 million years ago. The shark once dominated the world's oceans until it became extinct just under four million years ago. It was not only the largest shark to have ever lived, its jaw span, which accommodated 276 teeth, would be enough to swallow two adult humans side by side were it to exist today (€200-€500 depending on size, the largest of which is five inches long). sheppards.ie