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Roll up, roll up... cannon balls, Iron Age stone heads and ancient lottery tickets for sale

The upcoming Whyte’s auction has some pretty unusual offerings.

THE FORTHCOMING WHYTE’S auction will take place this Saturday and will see some interesting items offered to the public.

The auctioneer specialises in the sale of art and collectibles.

In total 392 lots will be on sale and will be on view at the auctioneer’s galleries on Molesworth Street between Wednesday and Friday this week, from 10am to 5pm. They will also be opened on Saturday from 9am to 12pm.

What is going to be on sale? 

Items included in the auction on Saturday include an Iron Age stone head which has been dated to between 500BC and 500AD, a set of 18th/ 19th century naval cannonballs and a State lottery ticket from 1761.

The most expensive lot in the auction is an archive of restored footage from the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War.

The lot includes “12 cans of safety film, and one of nitrate, with 360 minutes of footage by various freelance cameramen, commissioned at the time by Jacob Baum, a Dublin based film distributor”.

It is estimated that it will sell for between €150,000 and €180,000.

Also on sale is Robert Emmett’s death mask. It was cast in bronze from Emmett’s original death mask a short time after his death in 1803.

Another high profile lot is a harp given to Maud Gonne by WB Yeats. The lot’s description says that Gonne used to play the harp to accompany Yeats while he recited his verse.

Can anybody head along?

The auction will be taking place at 1 o’clock on Saturday and is open to the general public. It will be taking place in the company’s Molesworth Street premises.

Individuals are able to leave absentee bids before time online but all items will be opened up for auction on the day, regardless of what is offered for them beforehand.

Read: More than his left foot: New archive shows the real life of Christy Brown

Also: Paul McGrath raised €400 for charity by auctioning off his Second Captains t-shirt

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7 Comments
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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    May 5th 2015, 2:04 PM

    Whatever value people put on antiquity from the iron age shows how little they know about where it was found and who created it. This stone item would be better given to a local museum.

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    Mute Jack Delaney
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    May 5th 2015, 1:42 PM

    Sounds like some of these items might be more suitable for a car boot sale.

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    Mute Ross O'flaherty
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    May 5th 2015, 1:39 PM

    Cushty !

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    Mute John O'Neill
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    May 5th 2015, 4:05 PM

    Surely that Stone Age head would belong to the state not to an individual?

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    May 5th 2015, 2:12 PM

    Never heard of a set of naval cannonballs before. They are usually sized according to the bore of the artillery piece ie, 42 pounder, 36 pounder etc.

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    Mute Dave O'Hanlon
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    May 5th 2015, 5:43 PM

    What can someone possibly do with an Iron-Age stone head, If i came into possession of something like this i would give it to a museum or someone who could actually find out more about it.

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    Mute Alphonse delatouche
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    May 5th 2015, 4:38 PM

    The auction doesn’t take place in whytes offices…It takes place in the freemasons hall across the street …which is worth a look at anyway

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