ADAM'S - AT HOME AUCTION - FEBRUARY 26TH 2017 (Click Lot title for more images and to Place Bid)

114 / 154

of coopered construction with twin brass side handles. 76cm
high x 64.5cm diameter
The mahogany peat or fuel bucket was a ubiquitous fireside
companion in Irish country houses of the Georgian era. They
tended to be made to a fairly standard design, sometimes
reeded or spiral reeded, with brass braiding for stability and swing
handles for carrying. The vast majority are no more than ‘’16’’ high
and often are accompanied by a matching ‘plate bucket’, used
for ferrying warmed dinner plates from the downstairs kitchen to
the dining room.Cut turf and for that matter, logs are by their very
nature large and big quantities were needed to maintain day and
night-long fires. Standard buckets tended to accommodate
relatively small amounts of fuel so in more commodious houses
the turf buckets tended to be much larger, some as big as
three feet high. As they were too large for the ‘help’ to carry using
a swing handle, these buckets were carried using two applied
brass handles on the sides. The present lot, that has come from a
lovely Co. Wicklow country house, is one such original Georgian
bucket that displays the robust craftsmanship these
pieces required just to survive. Their elegance too is desired these
days by not just the inhabitants of the great old Irish houses but
also by owners of modern streamlined, light-filled apartments
where the minimalism of their design is appreciated.
€ 8,000 - 12,000
in the manner of Del Vecchio, Dublin, of
rectangular form, the white marble top above
foliate frieze, flanked by twin eagle-head
monopodia on claw and ball feet, the mirror
back panel enclosed in anthemion wrapped
columns raised on a concave rosewood
platform base, with pierced brass banding.
101cm high, 192cm wide, 56cm deep
€ 4,000 - 6,000
in rococo taste, the carved foliate pediment
surmounted by an eagle, the rectangular mirror
plate enclosed by pierced scrolling and leaf
wrapped pilasters with scrolling terminals.
235 x 160cm
€ 1,000 - 1,500
114